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Ballot Explained

Appellate courts · November 3, 2026

Who's on the appellate court ballot in Nevada

2 candidates are on the ballot. 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
2
Sitting judges
2 of 2
On the ballot
No party label
State primary
Jun 9

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

Two of the seven seats on the Nevada Supreme Court are on the November 3, 2026 ballot, and every voter in the state votes on both. Nevada judicial elections are nonpartisan — no party label is printed beside any name, which is why no party is listed below. In ballot order by seat: Seat B, held by Justice Kristina (Kris) Pickering; and Seat D, held by Chief Justice Douglas Herndon. Both are unopposed: nobody else filed for either seat, so the June 9, 2026 primary was cancelled and both incumbents advanced directly to the general election, where each appears alone on the ballot line. The three seats on the Nevada Court of Appeals were last filled in 2022 and are not up until 2028, so these two Supreme Court seats are the only appellate contests on this ballot. Roster from the Nevada Secretary of State's candidate filings.

2 candidates · ballot order · Kristina Pickering 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.

  • Continuity on a seven-member court.
  • Commercial and civil litigation experience on the court's business docket.
  • Administration of Nevada's two-tier appellate system.

What they’ve actually done

Documented record from official sources.

  • Justice, Nevada Supreme Court, Seat B, since 2009; current term expires in 2026.
  • Has served terms as Chief Justice of Nevada.
  • Commercial litigator in Reno before joining the court.
  • No other candidate filed for Seat B, so the June 9, 2026 primary was cancelled and she appears unopposed on the November ballot.

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

  • The race is uncontested and no organised campaign for or against Pickering was found. Searched: Nevada Current, Nevada Independent, Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Clark County Bar Association's election coverage and State Bar of Nevada material.
  • Nevada does not run an official judicial performance evaluation commission for appellate judges; the Las Vegas Review-Journal's judicial performance survey covers trial judges rather than the Supreme Court.
  • No independent analysis of her published opinions was found.
Sources (3)⌄
  1. 1Your state-by-state guide to the 2026 supreme court elections — Bolts — boltsmag.org
  2. 2Nevada Supreme Court and Court of Appeals judicial directory and terms of office — Nevada Appellate Courts — nvcourts.gov
  3. 3Justices of the Nevada Supreme Court and Appeals Court judges — Clark County, Nevada — clarkcountynv.gov

What they say they stand for

Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.

  • Continuity on a seven-member court.
  • Criminal trial court experience on the court's criminal docket.
  • Administration of the state court system as chief justice.

What they’ve actually done

Documented record from official sources.

  • Justice, Nevada Supreme Court, Seat D, since 2021; Chief Justice since 2025.
  • Elected to the Supreme Court in 2020 to the seat vacated by Justice Mark Gibbons.
  • Chief presiding criminal judge, Eighth Judicial District Court, Las Vegas, 2017–2021.
  • Chief judge of the criminal division, Eighth Judicial District Court, 2009–2017; district court judge from 2005.
  • No other candidate filed for Seat D, so the June 9, 2026 primary was cancelled and he appears unopposed on the November ballot.

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

  • The race is uncontested and no organised campaign for or against Herndon was found. Searched: Nevada Current, Nevada Independent, Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Clark County Bar Association's election coverage and State Bar of Nevada material.
  • Nevada does not run an official judicial performance evaluation commission for appellate judges.
  • No independent analysis of his published opinions was found.
Sources (3)⌄
  1. 1Your state-by-state guide to the 2026 supreme court elections — Bolts — boltsmag.org
  2. 2Douglas W. Herndon — Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org
  3. 3Nevada Supreme Court and Court of Appeals judicial directory and terms of office — Nevada Appellate Courts — nvcourts.gov

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 Nevada 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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