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Here’s What To Know Before Voting In North Carolina’s Judicial Races

WUNC | By Frank Stasio,
Kaia Findlay
Published September 22, 2020 at 12:14 PM EDT
Three North Carolina Supreme Court seats are up for election this year, as well as five Court of Appeals seats and numerous superior and district court positions.
Three North Carolina Supreme Court seats are up for election this year, as well as five Court of Appeals seats and numerous superior and district court positions.
Three North Carolina Supreme Court seats are up for election this year, as well as five Court of Appeals seats and numerous superior and district court positions.
Credit The North Carolina Judicial Branch
Three North Carolina Supreme Court seats are up for election this year, as well as five Court of Appeals seats and numerous superior and district court positions.

Races for executive and legislative positions in North Carolina are in full swing — but what about the third branch of government? There are 190 judicial seats up for election this year, most notably three seats on the North Carolina Supreme Court. 

Host Frank Stasio talks with Jeanette Doran, president and general counsel of the North Carolina Institute of Constitutional Law, about the upcoming North Carolina judicial races.

Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, a Democrat, will run to keep her seat against Republican associate justice Paul Newby. Democrat Lucy Inman will face Repulican Phil Berger Jr. for Newby’s vacated seat, and a third open seat will be filled by either Republican Tamara Barringer or Democrat Mark Davis. North Carolina elects its judges and justices in partisan races — Newby is currently the only Republican on the seven-seat court.

The state Supreme Court makes decisions on cases ranging from voter ID requirements to the state’s obligation to ensure access to public education.

In addition to the Supreme Court races, there are five state Court of Appeals races, 163 district court races and 19 superior court races. Host Frank Stasio talks with Jeanette Doran about the importance of the 2020 judicial races, the structure of the court system and how voters can find information about the candidates. Doran is the president and general counsel of the North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law, a conservative-leaning policy organization.

Copyright 2020 North Carolina Public Radio
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio
Kaia Findlay
Kaia Findlay is a producer for The State of Things, WUNC's daily, live talk show. Kaia grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in a household filled with teachers and storytellers. In elementary school, she usually fell asleep listening to recordings of 1950s radio comedy programs. After a semester of writing for her high school newspaper, she decided she hated journalism. While pursuing her bachelor’s in environmental studies at UNC-Chapel Hill, she got talked back into it. Kaia received a master’s degree from the UNC Hussman School of Journalism, where she focused on reporting and science communication. She has published stories with Our State Magazine, Indy Week, and HuffPost. She most recently worked as the manager for a podcast on environmental sustainability and higher education. Her reporting passions include climate and the environment, health and science, food and women’s issues. When not working at WUNC, Kaia goes pebble-wrestling, takes long bike rides, and reads while hammocking.
See stories by Kaia Findlay