Washington local trial court judicial elections, 2018
- General election: Nov. 6
- Voter registration deadline: Oct. 8 (mail or online), or Oct. 29 (in-person)
- Early voting: N/A
- Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: No
- Voter ID: N/A (Washington conducts all elections by mail)
- Poll times: N/A
 Trial court elections |
Poll opening and closing times |
Washington held nonpartisan general elections for local judicial offices on November 6, 2018. All judicial candidates appeared on the ballot in a primary election which was held on August 7, 2018. The two candidates who received the most votes in the primary advanced to the general election. The filing deadline for candidates to run in the primary was May 18, 2018.[1]
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of elections in America's 100 largest cities by population. This coverage extends to every office on the ballot for residents of these cities, including local trial court judges. In 2018, Ballotpedia covered the following local elections in this state:
- King County, Washington - Prosecuting attorney and district court judges
- Seattle, Washington - Municipal court judges
If the above list includes local trial court judgeships, click the links for more information about the elections. Click here to learn more about how the judges in this state are selected. Ballotpedia did not cover all local trial court judicial elections in this state in 2018. Please consider donating to Ballotpedia to help us expand our coverage of these elections.
For more information about the 2018 appellate court elections in the state, click here.
Election dates
- May 18, 2018: Candidate filing deadline
- August 7, 2018: Primary election
- November 6, 2018: General election
Election rules
Primary election
Nonpartisan primaries are held only if more than two candidates file for a position. The two candidates who receive the greatest number of votes in the primary advance to the general election.[2][3][4]
General election
In counties with a population that is greater than 100,000, if only one superior court candidate files for election for a judgeship, that candidate is automatically elected and the county does not hold a general election for the seat. According to the 2010 census, the following counties have a population greater than 100,000:[5]
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
Five of 39 Washington counties—12.8 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
| Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Trump margin of victory in 2016 | Obama margin of victory in 2012 | Obama margin of victory in 2008 | ||||
| Clallam County, Washington | 2.76% | 0.38% | 3.30% | ||||
| Cowlitz County, Washington | 13.32% | 4.44% | 11.15% | ||||
| Grays Harbor County, Washington | 6.99% | 14.11% | 14.56% | ||||
| Mason County, Washington | 5.81% | 7.09% | 8.66% | ||||
| Pacific County, Washington | 6.74% | 11.52% | 14.07% | ||||
In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won Washington with 52.5 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 36.8 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Washington cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 73.3 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Washington supported Democratic candidates for president more often than Republican candidates, 53.3 to 43.3 percent. The state favored Democrats in every election between 2000 and 2016.
Presidential results by legislative district
The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Washington. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[6][7]
| In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 34 out of 49 state House districts in Washington with an average margin of victory of 25.4 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 30 out of 49 state House districts in Washington with an average margin of victory of 32.1 points. |
| In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 15 out of 49 state House districts in Washington with an average margin of victory of 13.9 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 19 out of 49 state House districts in Washington with an average margin of victory of 14.9 points. |
| 2016 presidential results by state House district | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Obama | Romney | 2012 Margin | Clinton | Trump | 2016 Margin | |
| 1 | 59.66% | 37.93% | D+21.7 | 61.73% | 30.36% | D+31.4 | |
| 2 | 47.71% | 49.88% | R+2.2 | 37.79% | 53.05% | R+15.3 | |
| 3 | 57.66% | 38.63% | D+19 | 51.82% | 38.12% | D+13.7 | |
| 4 | 40.00% | 57.37% | R+17.4 | 34.91% | 56.36% | R+21.4 | |
| 5 | 53.41% | 44.29% | D+9.1 | 54.74% | 37.12% | D+17.6 | |
| 6 | 46.76% | 50.72% | R+4 | 44.72% | 46.75% | R+2 | |
| 7 | 36.16% | 61.01% | R+24.9 | 29.00% | 63.45% | R+34.5 | |
| 8 | 36.10% | 61.49% | R+25.4 | 34.54% | 57.03% | R+22.5 | |
| 9 | 37.70% | 59.71% | R+22 | 35.13% | 56.40% | R+21.3 | |
| 10 | 50.21% | 47.38% | D+2.8 | 46.94% | 45.07% | D+1.9 | |
| 11 | 67.51% | 30.27% | D+37.2 | 67.74% | 25.40% | D+42.3 | |
| 12 | 39.91% | 57.67% | R+17.8 | 37.34% | 55.97% | R+18.6 | |
| 13 | 35.70% | 61.75% | R+26 | 31.04% | 61.91% | R+30.9 | |
| 14 | 42.63% | 54.97% | R+12.3 | 38.98% | 54.23% | R+15.2 | |
| 15 | 45.75% | 52.31% | R+6.6 | 42.51% | 51.74% | R+9.2 | |
| 16 | 38.20% | 59.21% | R+21 | 36.00% | 56.67% | R+20.7 | |
| 17 | 48.28% | 49.36% | R+1.1 | 45.51% | 46.88% | R+1.4 | |
| 18 | 43.85% | 54.12% | R+10.3 | 42.36% | 50.56% | R+8.2 | |
| 19 | 53.59% | 43.66% | D+9.9 | 41.57% | 50.52% | R+8.9 | |
| 20 | 40.98% | 56.26% | R+15.3 | 30.96% | 61.41% | R+30.4 | |
| 21 | 61.52% | 36.25% | D+25.3 | 62.27% | 30.19% | D+32.1 | |
| 22 | 63.17% | 33.68% | D+29.5 | 60.67% | 30.15% | D+30.5 | |
| 23 | 57.91% | 39.72% | D+18.2 | 56.69% | 34.37% | D+22.3 | |
| 24 | 54.21% | 42.81% | D+11.4 | 48.95% | 43.35% | D+5.6 | |
| 25 | 50.87% | 46.92% | D+4 | 45.23% | 46.56% | R+1.3 | |
| 26 | 49.33% | 48.06% | D+1.3 | 45.36% | 45.35% | D+0 | |
| 27 | 67.29% | 30.00% | D+37.3 | 65.15% | 26.43% | D+38.7 | |
| 28 | 54.44% | 43.37% | D+11.1 | 52.61% | 38.96% | D+13.7 | |
| 29 | 62.55% | 34.97% | D+27.6 | 54.47% | 36.76% | D+17.7 | |
| 30 | 58.70% | 39.18% | D+19.5 | 56.77% | 35.96% | D+20.8 | |
| 31 | 47.88% | 49.93% | R+2.1 | 41.61% | 50.16% | R+8.5 | |
| 32 | 70.64% | 26.92% | D+43.7 | 71.67% | 21.56% | D+50.1 | |
| 33 | 65.65% | 32.25% | D+33.4 | 64.85% | 28.57% | D+36.3 | |
| 34 | 77.41% | 20.25% | D+57.2 | 79.30% | 14.85% | D+64.4 | |
| 35 | 51.47% | 45.95% | D+5.5 | 44.25% | 46.59% | R+2.3 | |
| 36 | 81.82% | 15.34% | D+66.5 | 85.25% | 9.15% | D+76.1 | |
| 37 | 86.30% | 11.18% | D+75.1 | 87.06% | 8.13% | D+78.9 | |
| 38 | 59.99% | 37.08% | D+22.9 | 53.38% | 37.81% | D+15.6 | |
| 39 | 49.44% | 47.52% | D+1.9 | 40.00% | 50.75% | R+10.7 | |
| 40 | 62.09% | 34.70% | D+27.4 | 62.61% | 29.29% | D+33.3 | |
| 41 | 60.00% | 38.22% | D+21.8 | 67.76% | 26.09% | D+41.7 | |
| 42 | 49.67% | 47.37% | D+2.3 | 47.57% | 44.43% | D+3.1 | |
| 43 | 85.99% | 10.63% | D+75.4 | 88.74% | 5.96% | D+82.8 | |
| 44 | 54.08% | 43.61% | D+10.5 | 50.96% | 40.24% | D+10.7 | |
| 45 | 58.18% | 39.63% | D+18.6 | 64.80% | 28.03% | D+36.8 | |
| 46 | 78.25% | 19.15% | D+59.1 | 81.92% | 12.42% | D+69.5 | |
| 47 | 55.53% | 42.30% | D+13.2 | 54.37% | 38.29% | D+16.1 | |
| 48 | 61.67% | 35.86% | D+25.8 | 68.17% | 25.02% | D+43.2 | |
| 49 | 57.30% | 40.04% | D+17.3 | 54.21% | 37.87% | D+16.3 | |
| Total | 56.16% | 41.29% | D+14.9 | 54.30% | 38.07% | D+16.2 | |
| Source: Daily Kos | |||||||
See also
| Local courts | Washington | Other local coverage |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Elections Calendar 2018," accessed October 2, 2017
- ↑ Washington State Legislature, "RCW 29A.52.220," accessed April 30, 2014
- ↑ Washington State Legislature, "RCW 29A.36.170," accessed April 30, 2014
- ↑ Washington Courts, "Judicial Election Information," accessed April 30, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "Washington: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013," accessed July 24, 2014
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Washington, Western District of Washington • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Washington, Western District of Washington
State courts:
Washington Supreme Court • Washington Court of Appeals • Washington Superior Court • Washington District Courts • Washington Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Washington • Washington judicial elections • Judicial selection in Washington
| |||||||||||
