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NCSBOE -Raleigh, N.C. — The online Judicial Voter Guide: 2026 General Election is now available on the State Board of Elections’ website.
The digital guide contains information about this year’s candidates for North Carolina’s appellate courts – the North Carolina Supreme Court and North Carolina Court of Appeals.
“The State Board of Elections takes pride in this guide as a way to educate North Carolina’s 7.8 million registered voters about candidates for these important judicial seats,” said Sam Hayes, executive director of the State Board of Elections. “We encourage voters to use this online resource to learn about the candidates before they cast their ballot.”
In the coming weeks, the State Board will send a postcard with a QR code link to the online Judicial Voter Guide to all North Carolina households. The State Board is not sending a full, printed version of the guide in 2026 because the fund created for the guide has been depleted.
Ballots for all N.C. voters in 2026 will include four appellate court contests: one Associate Justice of the N.C. Supreme Court seat, and three Judge of the N.C. Court of Appeals seats. Candidates for appellate offices are elected statewide. Candidates for other judicial offices are not elected statewide and are not included in this guide.
The general election is Nov. 3, 2026. For more information about the general election, go to Upcoming Election.
About the Appellate Courts
The N.C. Supreme Court is the state’s highest court. One chief justice and six associate justices review cases from the N.C. Court of Appeals, the N.C. Business Court, and cases in which the death penalty has been imposed. For more information, see Supreme Court of North Carolina.
The North Carolina Court of Appeals reviews cases first decided in District and Superior Courts, as well as appeals from administrative agencies. There are a total of 15 judges on the Court of Appeals, and appeals are decided by rotating panels of three judges who consider errors in legal procedures or in judicial interpretation of the law. For more information, see North Carolina Court of Appeals.
Supreme Court justices and Court of Appeals judges serve eight-year terms.
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