Archived Version: November 6, 2007

An information resource for Washington voters

Welcome to www.votingforjudges.org, a nonpartisan source of information on judicial elections in the state of Washington.

This site was established in 2006 to provide information to voters in connection with the judicial candidates running for election that year. That information is still preserved here in our archives.

2007

There will only be three judicial elections in 2007. In general, judicial elections are held in odd-numbered years only when it is necessary to fill a vacancy, or when a temporary executive appointment has been made during the year.

• Lewis County is electing a Superior Court judge to replace Judge H. John Hall, who retired at the end of July. Two candidates have filed for the office; this election will be on the November ballot.
• Clallam County elected a Superior Court judge to a newly-created third position this fall. Four candidates ran in the August 21 primary. Because Brooke Taylor received more than 50% of the votes cast, he will run unopposed on the November ballot, and he will be the new judge.
• In Division III, District 1, of the Court of Appeals, Judge Debra Stephens was appointed by the governor to fill a vacancy, and she took office in May 2007. Although she must stand for election this fall, no other candidate filed for the position, so she will appear on the November ballot unopposed. Voters in Ferry, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane and Stevens counties are included in this district. This election is for a one-year unexpired term; the position will be up for election again in the fall of 2008.

Beginning this year, the primary election has been moved from the third Tuesday in September to the third Tuesday in August, so this year's primary election date was August 21; ballots were mailed August 1. The general election will be held on November 6; ballots were mailed October 17.

The American Bar Association has honored VotingforJudges with its 2007 Silver Gavel Award for Media and the Arts, in the "New Media" category. In addition, the Atlanta-based Foundation for Improvement of Justice presented one of its Paul H. Chapman Justice Awards for 2007 to VotingforJudges.

On August 18, 2007, The Seattle Times once again praised the site.

2008

In 2008, votingforjudges.org will cover elections for three Supreme Court positions, seven Court of Appeals positions, and every Superior Court judge in Washington.

VotingforJudges.org, P.O. Box 1460, Silverdale, WA  98383
Write to [email protected].

Votingforjudges.org includes ratings and endorsements from numerous organizations. We provide this information so that voters will be better informed about the candidates. We do not rate or endorse any candidates; the ratings and endorsements of organizations included at this site reflect the views of those individual organizations and not necessarily the views of votingforjudges.org or its sponsors.