VotingforJudges is a nonpartisan, impartial source of information about judicial elections in the state of Washington. The site was established in 2006 to provide information to voters in connection with the appellate judicial contests that year, and it has expanded to cover all judicial elections throughout the state. All of Washington's 2012 elections will be reported.

Our archives retain information from the 2006-2010 elections.

2012

The Primary is the only election for many judicial races.
Vote August 7!

The very important primary election, which will determine the final results in many instances, will conclude on August 7, and the general election will conclude  November 6. Primary ballots were mailed on July 18; general election ballots will be mailed on or about October 19.

NOTE! Information accompanying many primary ballots states that "the two candidates who receive the most votes in the primary will advance to the general election." This is incorrect for many judicial elections. If a candidate in a judicial election receives a majority of the votes cast in the primary, that is the end of the contest. The primary is your only chance to make a choice in races with two candidates.

This year, VotingforJudges is providing information about elections for three Supreme Court positions:

• Susan Owens is running for re-election. She is being challenged by Douglas McQuaid and Scott Stafne.
• Steve Gonzalez, who was appointed by the Governor and took office in January, is running for a full term. He is being challenged by Bruce Danielson.
• Bruce Hilyer, John Ladenburg, Sheryl Gordon McCloud, and Richard Sanders are running for the empty seat resulting from Justice Tom Chambers's retirement.

In addition, VotingforJudges will cover eight Court of Appeals positions (including two that are contested), and every contested Superior Court election in Washington.

The judicial elections that will appear on your ballot depend on your county of residence. Your best starting point at VotingforJudges is the Show My Elections page: Click on your county, and you will have up-to-date information on judicial elections that will appear on your ballot at all court levels.

We are adding more information as it becomes available. Once again this year, VotingforJudges is your most complete source for impartial judicial election information. Tell your friends and colleagues!

Honors

The American Bar Association honored VotingforJudges with its 2007 Silver Gavel Award for Media and the Arts, in the "New Media" category, "recognizing outstanding efforts to foster public understanding of the law."

The Atlanta-based Foundation for Improvement of Justice presented one of its Paul H. Chapman Justice Awards for 2007 to VotingforJudges.

Paul Fjelstad, the Kitsap attorney who created and provides ongoing updates to VotingforJudges, was honored with the 2007 King County Bar Association President's Award for his work.

Numerous newspaper editorials have praised and recommended this site.

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

As the election approaches, Votingforjudges.org will include 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.