Alabama intermediate appellate court elections, 2020

2020 State Judicial Elections
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The terms of two Alabama Court of Civil Appeals justices and two Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals justices expired on January 18, 2021. The four seats were up for partisan election on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for March 3, 2020. A full term on both courts is six years.

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Alabama modified its absentee/mail-in voting and candidate filing procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:

• Absentee/mail-in voting: Any qualified voter could cast an absentee ballot in the general election.
• Candidate filing procedures: The petition deadline for unaffiliated presidential candidates was extended to August 20, 2020.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

Court of Civil Appeals

Candidates and election results

Place 1

General election candidates

• William Thompson  (Incumbent) (Republican Party) ✔

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

 Democratic primary candidates

The Democratic Party primary was canceled. No candidates filed for this race.

 Republican primary candidates

This primary was canceled and this candidate advanced:

• William Thompson (Incumbent) ✔

Note: Because incumbent William Thompson was the only candidate to file for election, the primaries were canceled and he automatically advanced to the general election.

Place 2

General election candidates

• Matt Fridy  (Republican Party) ✔

 Democratic primary candidates

The Democratic Party primary was canceled. No candidates filed for this race.

 Republican primary candidates

• Phillip Bahakel
• Matt Fridy ✔

Judges not on the ballot

• Scott Donaldson (Place 2)
  

Court of Criminal Appeals

Candidates and results

Place 1

General election candidates

• Mary Becker Windom  (Incumbent) (Republican Party) ✔

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

 Democratic primary candidates

The Democratic Party primary was canceled. No candidates filed for this race.

 Republican primary candidates

• Mary Becker Windom (Incumbent) ✔
• Melvin Hasting

Place 2

General election candidates

• J. Elizabeth Kellum  (Incumbent) (Republican Party) ✔

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

 Republican primary runoff candidates

• J. Elizabeth Kellum (Incumbent) ✔
• Will Smith 

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= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
 Democratic primary candidates

The Democratic Party primary was canceled. No candidates filed for this race.

 Republican primary candidates

• J. Elizabeth Kellum (Incumbent) ✔
• Jill Ganus
• Will Smith ✔ 

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= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey

Past elections

2018

See also: Alabama intermediate appellate court elections, 2018

General election

General election for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Christy Olinger Edwards (R)	97.0	1,084,931
		Other/Write-in votes	3.0	33,510

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,118,441 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Primary runoff

■ Christy Olinger Edwards a
■ Michelle M. Thomason

Primary

Note: Craig Sorrell Pittman did not file to run for re-election.
■ Christy Olinger Edwards
■ Peyton C. "Pat" Thetford
■ Michelle M. Thomason

General election

General election for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chad Hanson (R)	97.0	1,081,480
		Other/Write-in votes	3.0	33,277

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,114,757 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Primary

■ Terri Willingham Thomas (i)
■ Chad Hanson a

General election

General election for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Terry A. Moore (R)	97.0	1,082,533
		Other/Write-in votes	3.0	33,269

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,115,802 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Primary

■ Terry A. Moore (i) a

General election

General election for Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Richard Minor (R)	97.0	1,080,637
		Other/Write-in votes	3.0	32,927

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,113,564 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Primary

Note: Samuel Henry Welch did not file to run for re-election.
■ Richard Minor a
■ Riggs Walker

General election

General election for Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris McCool (R)	97.1	1,079,559
		Other/Write-in votes	2.9	32,504

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,112,063 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Primary runoff

■ Rich Anderson
■ Chris McCool a

Primary

Note: Liles Burke did not file to run for re-election.
■ Rich Anderson
■ Chris McCool
■ Dennis O'Dell

General election

Primary

Note: J. Michael Joiner did not file to run for re-election.
■ Donna Beaulieu
■ J. William "Bill" Cole a

Selection

See also: Judicial selection in Alabama

Court of Civil Appeals

The five judges on the Court of Civil Appeals are elected to six-year terms in statewide partisan elections. The presiding judge is chosen by seniority and serves for an indefinite term.

Qualifications

To serve on this court, a judge must be:

• licensed to practice law for at least 10 years;
• a state resident for at least one year;
• under the age of 70 at the time of election (judges who turn 70 in office may serve until their term expires)

The requirement that a potential judge practice law for 10 years before becoming eligible to serve on the court is fairly new; it was established in 2009.

Court of Criminal Appeals

The five judges on the Court of Criminal Appeals are elected to six-year terms in statewide partisan elections. The presiding judge is chosen by a peer vote and serves for an indefinite term.

Qualifications

To serve on this court, a judge must be:

• licensed to practice law for at least 10 years;
• a state resident for at least one year;
• under the age of 70 at the time of election (judges who turn 70 in office may serve until their term expires)

See also

Alabama	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in Alabama Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals Alabama Court of Civil Appeals Alabama Supreme Court	Elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Alabama	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Alabama Court of Civil Appeals
• Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

Footnotes

Alabama courts

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Federal courts:

Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Alabama, Middle District of Alabama, Southern District of Alabama • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Alabama, Middle District of Alabama, Southern District of Alabama

State courts:

Alabama Supreme Court • Alabama Court of Civil Appeals • Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals • Alabama Circuit Courts • Alabama District Courts • Alabama Juvenile Courts • Alabama Municipal Courts • Alabama Probate Courts • Alabama Small Claims Courts

State resources:

Courts in Alabama • Alabama judicial elections • Judicial selection in Alabama