North Dakota local trial court judicial elections, 2016
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The 23 North Dakota district court seats up for election in 2016 all appeared on the primary ballot on June 14, 2016, but only two of the seats saw enough candidates file for the primary to have a meaningful impact. Both races featured open seats where the sitting judge did not seek re-election. Just two other seats saw more than one candidate file, meaning only four contested races appeared on the general election ballots on November 8, 2016.
Northeast Judicial District Judge No. 1 Lee A. Christofferson announced he would not seek a new term in 2016. Southeast Judicial District Judge No. 2 Jerod Tufte, meanwhile, ran for the state supreme court instead of seeking to remain on the district court bench. Four candidates sought to replace Christofferson, and three vied to replace Tufte. In both elections, the two candidates who received the most votes in the primary race advanced to the general election.
Southeast Judicial District Judge No. 5 Daniel D. Narum and North Central Judicial District Judge No. 4 Stacy J. Louser were the only incumbents running for re-election to face challengers in 2016.
In order to run in this election, candidates had to file with the North Dakota Secretary of State by April 11, 2016.[1]
Races and candidates by county
MapChoose a county from the menu on the left to learn in which judicial district it lies, which of the district's seats were up for election, and who are the candidates who ran in those races. The counties are shaded on the map to indicate the eight judicial districts. NorthwestNorthwest Judicial DistrictNorth Dakota's Northwest Judicial District covers the counties of Divide, McKenzie, and Williams. Judges No. 1, 3, and 4 were up for election in 2016. The three sitting judges in those positions won re-election without opposition. Primary election
NortheastNortheast Judicial DistrictNorth Dakota's Northeast Judicial District covers the counties of Benson, Bottineau, Cavalier, McHenry, Pembina, Pierce, Ramsey, Renville, Rolette, Towner, and Walsh. Judges No. 1 and 5 were up for election in 2016. The Judge No. 1 race was one of only two North Dakota District Court races where the primary contest limited the pool of candidates for the general election. Four candidates filed to replace sitting Judge Lee A. Christofferson in this race. The two candidates who received the most votes in the primary advanced to the general election. Meanwhile, Judge No. 5 Laurie A. Fontaine won re-election without opposition. Primary election
North CentralNorth Central Judicial DistrictNorth Dakota's North Central Judicial District covers the counties of Burke, Mountrail, and Ward. Three of the court's seats were up for election, but only one race was contested. Judge No. 4 Stacy J. Louser was one of just two incumbents running for re-election to face a challengers in 2016. Bob Martin challenged but ultimately lost to Louser. Judge No. 2 Gary H. Lee and Judge No. 5 Todd Cresap won re-election without opposition. Primary election
Northeast CentralNortheast Central Judicial DistrictNorth Dakota's Northeast Central Judicial District covers the counties of Grand Forks, and Nelson. The court's Judge No. 3 seat, held by Jon Jay Jensen was up for election. Jensen won re-election without opposition. Primary election
East CentralEast Central Judicial DistrictNorth Dakota's East Central Judicial District covers the counties of Cass, Steele, and Traill. Five of the court's seats were up for election. All five races were won by unopposed incumbents seeking re-election. Primary election
SoutheastSoutheast Judicial DistrictNorth Dakota's Southeast Judicial District covers the counties of Barnes, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, Griggs, LaMoure, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Stutsman, and Wells. Judges No. 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7 were up for election in 2016. Two of the five races were contested. Southeast Judicial District Judge No. 2 Jerod Tufte was appointed to the position on July 11, 2014, but chose to seek election to the state supreme court in 2016 instead of running for a full term on the district court. Three newcomers ran to replace him in the primary election. The top two vote recipients advanced to the general election. Judge No. 5 Daniel D. Narum was one of just two incumbent district court judges statewide to face a challenger in the 2016 elections. Kim Radermacher ran against him. Judge No. 4 James Hovey and Judge No. 6 Jay Schmitz won re-election unopposed. Newcomer Troy LeFevre also won the election unopposed in the Judge No. 7 race. Primary election
South CentralSouth Central Judicial DistrictNorth Dakota's South Central Judicial District covers the counties of Burleigh, Emmons, Grant, Kidder, Logan, McIntosh, McLean, Mercer, Morton, Oliver, Sheridan, and Sioux. Three seats on the court were up for election in 2016, but all three were unopposed. Primary election
SouthwestSouthwest Judicial DistrictNorth Dakota's Southwest Judicial District the counties of Adams, Billings, Bowman, Dunn, Golden Valley, Hettinger, Slope, and Stark. Judge No. 2 William Herauf was the only judge up for election in the district. He won re-election without opposition. Primary election
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Election rules
Selection method
- See also: Nonpartisan election of judges
The 42 judges of the North Dakota District Courts are selected in nonpartisan elections. They serve six-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to continue serving.[2]
Policies on interim vacancies and qualifications are identical to those of the supreme court. The chief judge, however, is chosen by a vote of the judges in each district and serves in that capacity for three years.[2]
Primary election
Primary elections take place on the second Tuesday of June. General elections take place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even-numbered years.
In the nonpartisan primary, the two candidates who receive the greatest number of votes advance to the general election.
All candidates, whether opposed or unopposed, participate in the primary and general elections. If only two candidates are running for a seat, they compete in both elections.[3][4]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'North Dakota' 'District Court' elections. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "2016 Election Calendar," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: North Dakota," archived October 3, 2014
- ↑ North Dakota Legislative Branch, "Chapter 16.1-11: Nominations for office - primary election," accessed April 26, 2014
- ↑ North Dakota Legislative Branch, "Chapter 16.1-13: General elections," accessed April 26, 2014
Federal courts:
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of North Dakota • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of North Dakota
State courts:
North Dakota Supreme Court • North Dakota Court of Appeals • North Dakota District Courts • North Dakota Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in North Dakota • North Dakota judicial elections • Judicial selection in North Dakota
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