Judges 2026 › Alaska › Judges on the ballot
Judges on the Alaska ballot in November 2026
Alaska voters see 21 retention questions on the November 3, 2026 ballot in the races The Ballot Brief tracks. Retention questions are a yes-or-no vote on keeping a sitting judge; elected seats work like any other race.
Judicial retention votes: yes or no on keeping a judge
Alaska Supreme Court
Jude Pate
Retention: yes or no
Justice Pate served as a Superior Court judge in Sitka from 2018 to 2023, and before that as an assistant public defender for the State of Alaska (2006-2018), in private law practice (1999-2006), and as counsel for the Sitka Tribe of Alaska (1994-1999); he holds a J.D. from Lewis & Clark Northwestern School of Law and a B.S. in journalism from the University of Kansas, per the court's official biography.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
Alaska Superior Court
Daniel E. Doty
Retention: yes or noFirst Judicial District
Daniel E. Doty is a sitting Superior Court judge in Alaska's First Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
Katherine H. Lybrand
Retention: yes or noFirst Judicial District
Katherine H. Lybrand is a sitting Superior Court judge in Alaska's First Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
Marianna C. Carpeneti
Retention: yes or noFirst Judicial District
Marianna C. Carpeneti is a sitting Superior Court judge in Alaska's First Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
David L. Roghair
Retention: yes or noSecond Judicial District
David L. Roghair is a sitting Superior Court judge in Alaska's Second Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
Christina L. Reigh “Tina”
Retention: yes or noThird Judicial District
Christina L. Reigh “Tina” is a sitting Superior Court judge in Alaska's Third Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
Christina Rankin
Retention: yes or noThird Judicial District
Christina Rankin is a sitting Superior Court judge in Alaska's Third Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
David Nesbett
Retention: yes or noThird Judicial District
David Nesbett is a sitting Superior Court judge in Alaska's Third Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
Ian Wheeles
Retention: yes or noThird Judicial District
Ian Wheeles is a sitting Superior Court judge in Alaska's Third Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
Jack McKenna
Retention: yes or noThird Judicial District
Jack McKenna is a sitting Superior Court judge in Alaska's Third Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
Jonathan A. Woodman
Retention: yes or noThird Judicial District
Jonathan A. Woodman is a sitting Superior Court judge in Alaska's Third Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
Kelly J. Lawson
Retention: yes or noThird Judicial District
Kelly J. Lawson is a sitting Superior Court judge in Alaska's Third Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
Laura Hartz
Retention: yes or noThird Judicial District
Laura Hartz is a sitting Superior Court judge in Alaska's Third Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
Yvonne Lamoureux
Retention: yes or noThird Judicial District
Yvonne Lamoureux is a sitting Superior Court judge in Alaska's Third Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
Amy Welch
Retention: yes or noFourth Judicial District
Amy Welch is a sitting Superior Court judge in Alaska's Fourth Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
Kirk Schwalm
Retention: yes or noFourth Judicial District
Kirk Schwalm is a sitting Superior Court judge in Alaska's Fourth Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
Nathaniel Peters
Retention: yes or noFourth Judicial District
Nathaniel Peters is a sitting Superior Court judge in Alaska's Fourth Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
Alaska District Court
Chris Darnall
Retention: yes or noThird Judicial District
Chris Darnall is a sitting District Court judge in Alaska's Third Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
Martin C. Fallon
Retention: yes or noThird Judicial District
Martin C. Fallon is a sitting District Court judge in Alaska's Third Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
Shawn D. Traini
Retention: yes or noThird Judicial District
Shawn D. Traini is a sitting District Court judge in Alaska's Third Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
Benjamin Seekins
Retention: yes or noFourth Judicial District
Benjamin Seekins is a sitting District Court judge in Alaska's Fourth Judicial District facing a retention vote on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the Alaska Division of Elections' certified general election candidate list. No further biographical detail was independently verified as of September 23, 2026.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
How retention votes work
Alaska Supreme Court and Court of Appeals justices are appointed by the governor from Judicial Council nominees and then face a statewide yes/no retention vote at the first general election at least three years after appointment, and periodically thereafter; a majority yes vote retains the justice.
Source: ajc.alaska.gov, as of 2026-07-30.
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