Judges 2026 › Maryland › Judges on the ballot
Judges on the Maryland ballot in November 2026
Maryland voters see 2 retention questions, 10 county-level judicial races in the counties we track 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
Maryland Supreme Court
Peter K. Killough
Retention: yes or noAppellate Circuit 4
Killough was appointed to the Maryland Supreme Court by Governor Wes Moore in July 2024 and was sworn in that same month. Under Maryland's system, an appointed appellate judge stands for a retention vote at the next general election; his first retention vote falls on the November 2026 ballot, per the State Board of Elections' certified 2026 Gubernatorial General candidate list.
What a yes vote does: keeps the judge for another term; a no vote removes the judge at the end of the term.
Appellate Court of Maryland
Dan Friedman
Retention: yes or noAt Large
Friedman was appointed to the Appellate Court of Maryland (then the Court of Special Appeals) as an at-large judge on September 23, 2014, after previously serving as Assistant Attorney General and counsel to the General Assembly, per the Maryland Manual On-Line. He is on the November 3, 2026 ballot for a retention vote, per the State Board of Elections' certified 2026 Gubernatorial General candidate list.
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
Maryland Supreme Court and Appellate Court judges are appointed by the governor from a judicial nominating commission's list, confirmed, and then must win a yes-no retention election, typically at the next general election after appointment, to serve a full 10-year term.
Source: official list, as of 2026-09-23.
County and trial-court judicial races we track
Trial judges, county courts and other judicial offices from the county pages we have built (6 counties so far). Each link opens that race's page.
- Anne Arundel Judge of the Orphans' Court Anne Arundel County · 6 candidates
- Judge of the Circuit Court, Judicial Circuit 5 Anne Arundel County · 3 candidates
- Baltimore County Judge of the Orphans' Court Baltimore County · 3 candidates
- Judge of the Circuit Court, Judicial Circuit 3 Baltimore County · 5 candidates
- Baltimore City Judge of the Orphans' Court Baltimore City County · 3 candidates
- Judge of the Circuit Court, Judicial Circuit 8 Baltimore City County · 6 candidates
- Judge of the Circuit Court, Judicial Circuit 5 Howard County · 1 candidate
- Judge of the Circuit Court, Judicial Circuit 6 Montgomery County · 4 candidates
- Judge of the Circuit Court, Judicial Circuit 7 Prince Georges County · 10 candidates
- Prince George's Judge of the Orphans' Court Prince Georges County · 3 candidates
Everything else on your Maryland ballot · Your exact ballot by ZIP code