Who's on the appellate court ballot in North Carolina
8 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.
North Carolina elects its appellate judges in partisan elections with the party printed on the ballot, and every voter in the state votes on all four appellate seats on November 3, 2026. In ballot order, following the North Carolina State Board of Elections’ Judicial Voter Guide, whose candidate order matches the ballot: North Carolina Supreme Court, Associate Justice Seat 1 — Anita Earls (D, incumbent) against Sarah Stevens (R), who resigned her seat in the state House in June 2026 to run. North Carolina Court of Appeals, Seat 1 — Michael C. Byrne (R), a judge at the state Office of Administrative Hearings, against John S. Arrowood (D, incumbent). Seat 2 — George Cooper Bell (R), a Superior Court judge, against Tobias (Toby) Hampson (D, incumbent). Seat 3 — Craig Collins (R), a Superior Court judge, against Christine Marie Walczyk (D), a District Court judge; this is the one Court of Appeals seat with no sitting appellate judge running. The Supreme Court race is the one drawing real money and attention: Earls reported $2,468,707 raised as of February 2026 against $245,620 for Stevens. Everything below that comes from a candidate is their own statement to the State Board of Elections’ guide, which prints biographies and statements but does not rate anyone. North Carolina runs no official judicial performance evaluation and the State Bar publishes no candidate ratings, which is why there is so little independent assessment of these eight people.
8 candidates · ballot order · Anita Earls 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.
Judicial experience as the qualification for the seat — she says she is the only candidate in the race with it, and the only one who has argued cases before the court as a lawyer.
Rights she locates in the North Carolina Constitution, including access to the ballot.
An independent judiciary as part of the balance of powers.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Senior Associate Justice, North Carolina Supreme Court, since 2019; elected in 2018.
Founder and executive director, Southern Coalition for Social Justice, 2007–2017.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, 1998–2000.
Director of advocacy, UNC Center for Civil Rights; voting rights project director, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.
Law degree, Yale Law School, 1988; B.A., Williams College, 1981; admitted to the North Carolina Bar on April 15, 1988.
Reported $2,468,707 in campaign donations as of February 2026, about ten times her opponent’s total.
North Carolina has no official judicial performance evaluation commission and no North Carolina State Bar rating of judicial candidates; the State Board of Elections’ Judicial Voter Guide prints each candidate’s own biography and statement but does not evaluate them.
Arguments in favor
Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who chairs the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, endorsed Earls for re-election, and National Security Leaders for America endorsed her in September 2026.
— Eric Holder and the National Democratic Redistricting Committee
Arguments against
Stevens gives her disagreement with Earls’s rulings as her reason for running, writing in the State Board of Elections’ own voter guide: “I am running because my opponent has twice ruled against the constitution on issues of voter identification and redistricting.”
— Sarah Stevens, her opponent, in the NCSBE Judicial Voter Guide
What we couldn’t verify
The criticism above characterises Earls’s votes in voter-ID and redistricting cases. The holdings themselves are not summarised here because no source reviewed set them out in enough detail to describe accurately rather than as a political characterisation.
North Carolina has no official judicial performance evaluation commission and no North Carolina State Bar rating of judicial candidates; the State Board of Elections’ Judicial Voter Guide prints each candidate’s own biography and statement but does not evaluate them.
No analysis of her published opinions was found beyond campaign coverage.
“Following the law as written and a strict following of the constitution,” in her words.
Disagreement with the court’s rulings on voter identification and redistricting, which she names as her reason for running.
Forty years of law practice and long legislative work on the judiciary as her qualification.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Attorney in private practice in Mount Airy, admitted to the bar in 1986; about forty years in practice.
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives for about seventeen and a half years, including fourteen as chair of the House Judiciary Committee; resigned effective June 16, 2026 to focus on this race.
B.S. in social work, UNC Greensboro, 1981; law degree, Campbell University School of Law, 1986.
Reported $245,620 in campaign donations as of February 2026.
Her campaign declined an interview about her record on election issues, saying through a spokesperson that it would be “a violation of judicial standards for a judge or judicial candidate to take a stand, or what may be perceived as a stand, on any issue that may appear before the court.”
North Carolina has no official judicial performance evaluation commission and no North Carolina State Bar rating of judicial candidates; the State Board of Elections’ Judicial Voter Guide prints each candidate’s own biography and statement but does not evaluate them.
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 endorsement of Stevens by a named organisation or individual was found. The progressive group North Carolina Voices has criticised her support, during her time in the legislature, for Republican-backed voting restrictions and redistricting maps. Because no comparable named case for her could be found, both argument columns are left empty rather than showing only criticism. Searched: the North Carolina Republican Party, WRAL, NC Newsline, The Assembly, Bolts and the News & Observer.
She has not served as a judge, so there are no published opinions to describe.
No campaign website was located.
North Carolina has no official judicial performance evaluation commission and no North Carolina State Bar rating of judicial candidates; the State Board of Elections’ Judicial Voter Guide prints each candidate’s own biography and statement but does not evaluate them.
Six years of judging and more than 400 written decisions as his qualification.
Applying North Carolina law as written.
Public safety, reflected in his law enforcement endorsements.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Judge, North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings, for six years, with more than 400 decisions.
Admitted to the North Carolina Bar in 1996; about thirty years of combined legal and judicial experience.
B.A. in English, North Carolina State University; law degree, Campbell Law School.
Endorsed by the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association and the National Association of Police Organizations.
North Carolina has no official judicial performance evaluation commission and no North Carolina State Bar rating of judicial candidates; the State Board of Elections’ Judicial Voter Guide prints each candidate’s own biography and statement but does not evaluate them.
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 published criticism of Byrne by name was found, which is why both argument columns are empty. Searched: the North Carolina Democratic Party, the Arrowood campaign, WRAL, NC Newsline, The Assembly and the News & Observer.
No campaign website was located.
No independent analysis of his administrative decisions was found.
North Carolina has no official judicial performance evaluation commission and no North Carolina State Bar rating of judicial candidates; the State Board of Elections’ Judicial Voter Guide prints each candidate’s own biography and statement but does not evaluate them.
Nearly eleven years of appellate experience as his qualification — he says no one else on or running for the court brings his depth of legal and life experience.
Consistency in the court’s published decisions.
Access to the courts.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Judge, North Carolina Court of Appeals, for nearly eleven years.
More than twenty-five years in private practice before returning to the appellate bench.
Served on the North Carolina Banking Commission and other state boards.
B.A. magna cum laude, Catawba College; law degree, UNC School of Law; admitted to the bar in 1982.
North Carolina has no official judicial performance evaluation commission and no North Carolina State Bar rating of judicial candidates; the State Board of Elections’ Judicial Voter Guide prints each candidate’s own biography and statement but does not evaluate them.
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 published criticism of Arrowood by name was found, which is why both argument columns are empty. Searched: the North Carolina Republican Party, the Byrne campaign, WRAL, NC Newsline, The Assembly and the News & Observer.
No campaign website was located.
No independent analysis of his published opinions was found.
North Carolina has no official judicial performance evaluation commission and no North Carolina State Bar rating of judicial candidates; the State Board of Elections’ Judicial Voter Guide prints each candidate’s own biography and statement but does not evaluate them.
“I follow the rule of law and administer justice impartially, without prejudice or bias,” in his words.
Felony trial experience — about a hundred jury trials — as his qualification.
Applying North Carolina law as written.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Judge, North Carolina Superior Court; has presided over roughly 100 felony jury trials.
B.S., Cornell University, 2000; law degree, Regent University School of Law, 2003.
Admitted in Virginia and Tennessee in 2004 and in North Carolina in 2006.
North Carolina has no official judicial performance evaluation commission and no North Carolina State Bar rating of judicial candidates; the State Board of Elections’ Judicial Voter Guide prints each candidate’s own biography and statement but does not evaluate them.
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 published criticism of Bell by name was found, and no endorsement of him by a named organisation was found, which is why both argument columns are empty. Searched: the North Carolina Democratic Party, the Hampson campaign, WRAL, NC Newsline, The Assembly and the News & Observer.
No campaign website was located.
No independent analysis of his rulings as a Superior Court judge was found.
North Carolina has no official judicial performance evaluation commission and no North Carolina State Bar rating of judicial candidates; the State Board of Elections’ Judicial Voter Guide prints each candidate’s own biography and statement but does not evaluate them.
Seven years on the Court of Appeals as his qualification — he says he has authored hundreds of majority decisions, usually unanimous and often drawing bipartisan support.
Consistency in the court’s published decisions.
Access to the courts.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Judge, North Carolina Court of Appeals, since 2019.
Attorney at two law firms before his election; law clerk at the North Carolina Court of Appeals earlier in his career.
Law degree, Campbell University School of Law, 2002; B.A., American University, 1998; admitted to the bar in 2002.
North Carolina has no official judicial performance evaluation commission and no North Carolina State Bar rating of judicial candidates; the State Board of Elections’ Judicial Voter Guide prints each candidate’s own biography and statement but does not evaluate them.
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 published criticism of Hampson by name was found, which is why both argument columns are empty. Searched: the North Carolina Republican Party, the Bell campaign, WRAL, NC Newsline, The Assembly and the News & Observer.
His claim about the number and unanimity of his authored decisions comes from his own statement in the State Board of Elections guide and was not independently verified.
No campaign website was located.
North Carolina has no official judicial performance evaluation commission and no North Carolina State Bar rating of judicial candidates; the State Board of Elections’ Judicial Voter Guide prints each candidate’s own biography and statement but does not evaluate them.
Experience on both the District Court and the Superior Court bench — he says he is the only candidate in his race with both.
Prosecutorial experience as preparation for the court’s criminal docket.
Applying North Carolina law as written.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Judge, North Carolina Superior Court.
District Court judge for nine years; nine years as an assistant district attorney; nine years in private practice.
B.A., University of Pittsburgh, 1994; law degree, Villanova University School of Law, 1997; admitted to the bar in 1997.
North Carolina has no official judicial performance evaluation commission and no North Carolina State Bar rating of judicial candidates; the State Board of Elections’ Judicial Voter Guide prints each candidate’s own biography and statement but does not evaluate them.
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 published criticism of Collins by name was found, and no endorsement of him by a named organisation was found, which is why both argument columns are empty. Searched: the North Carolina Democratic Party, the Walczyk campaign, WRAL, NC Newsline, The Assembly and the News & Observer.
No campaign website was located.
No independent analysis of his rulings was found.
North Carolina has no official judicial performance evaluation commission and no North Carolina State Bar rating of judicial candidates; the State Board of Elections’ Judicial Voter Guide prints each candidate’s own biography and statement but does not evaluate them.
Nineteen years as a trial judge — she says she is among the longest-serving in the state — as her qualification.
Managing a general civil docket, which she has led since 2021.
Access to the courts for ordinary litigants.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Judge, North Carolina District Court, for nineteen years; lead general civil court judge since 2021.
Managed her own law practice for twelve years before the bench.
Law degree, UNC School of Law; B.S. in finance, Boston College, magna cum laude; admitted to the bar on September 8, 1995.
Endorsed by the North Carolina Association of Educators and the North Carolina AFL-CIO, among others.
North Carolina has no official judicial performance evaluation commission and no North Carolina State Bar rating of judicial candidates; the State Board of Elections’ Judicial Voter Guide prints each candidate’s own biography and statement but does not evaluate them.
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 published criticism of Walczyk by name was found, which is why both argument columns are empty. Searched: the North Carolina Republican Party, the Collins campaign, WRAL, NC Newsline, The Assembly and the News & Observer.
No campaign website was located.
No independent analysis of her rulings as a District Court judge was found.
North Carolina has no official judicial performance evaluation commission and no North Carolina State Bar rating of judicial candidates; the State Board of Elections’ Judicial Voter Guide prints each candidate’s own biography and statement but does not evaluate them.
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 North Carolina 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.
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at North Carolina State Board of Elections.