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Ballot Explained

Appellate courts · November 3, 2026

Who's on the appellate court ballot in Nebraska

One candidate has qualified for this contest. One ballot can carry several appellate seats, and the note below sets out which contest is which. For each judge: the record, any official performance evaluation, and the arguments published for and against them.

Candidates
1
Sitting judges
1 of 1
On the ballot
No party label
State primary
May 12

Candidates appear in ballot order. We do not rank them, score them, or recommend one — here is how this is put together, and here is what the office actually does.

What is on this ballot

No Nebraska Supreme Court justice is on the November 3, 2026 ballot. Nebraska does not hold contested elections for judges: a judicial nominating commission sends names to the governor, the governor appoints, and the judge then faces voters only in a yes-or-no retention question with no party label — which is why no party is listed below. One appellate retention question is on this ballot: Nebraska Court of Appeals Judge Michael W. Pirtle of Omaha. Nebraska Court of Appeals judges are chosen from and retained by the voters of their own district rather than the whole state, so only voters in Pirtle’s district, covering part of Douglas County, see this question. Forty-eight Nebraska judges in all face retention this year — district, juvenile and county court judges plus two Workers’ Compensation Court judges who do stand before the whole state — and depending on where they live, Nebraska voters will see somewhere between two and fifteen judges on their ballot. Those others are trial judges and are not covered here. A judge retained this year serves until January 2033. Roster from the Nebraska Judicial Branch’s 2026 judicial retention election page and reporting by the Nebraska Examiner.

1 candidates · ballot order · Michael W. Pirtle currently holds this seat

Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.

What they say they stand for

Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.

  • Nothing documented in the sources reviewed.

What they’ve actually done

Documented record from official sources.

  • Judge, Nebraska Court of Appeals, representing the district covering part of Douglas County; based in Omaha.
  • The only Court of Appeals judge among the 48 Nebraska judges facing retention in 2026; no Supreme Court justice is on this ballot.
  • Nebraska judges are nominated by a judicial nominating commission, appointed by the governor, and then stand for retention; a judge retained in 2026 serves until January 2033 and may file for retention again in 2032.

Arguments in favor

We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.

Arguments against

We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.

What we couldn’t verify

  • No organised campaign either for or against Pirtle’s retention was found. Searched: the Nebraska Judicial Branch, Nebraska Examiner, the Omaha World-Herald, the Omaha Daily Record, the Nebraska State Bar Association and the Nebraska Commission on Judicial Qualifications.
  • Nebraska has no statutory judicial performance evaluation commission, and no Nebraska State Bar Association rating of 2026 retention candidates was found, so there is no professional assessment to report.
  • No analysis of his published opinions was found.
Sources (2)⌄
  1. 12026 Judicial Retention Election — Nebraska Judicial Branch — nebraskajudicial.gov
  2. 248 Nebraska judges face an up-or-down vote to stay in office after 2026 — Nebraska Examiner — nebraskaexaminer.com

Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.

This is one contest on a longer ballot

A Nebraska ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.

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