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Per-judge retention calls inside
The ballot
Nebraska judges are chosen by merit selection: a nominating commission sends names to the governor, who appoints. Judges then face the voters in retention elections — an uncontested yes-or-no question, judge by judge. Court of Appeals judges stand in the district from which they were appointed. A majority of YES votes retains; a majority of NO votes removes the judge when the term ends. The election is November 3, 2026. (No Nebraska Supreme Court justice stands for retention in 2026; the next supreme-court retention votes come in 2028.)
One Court of Appeals judge is on this year's ballot: Michael W. Pirtle.
Nebraska publishes no state commission evaluation. The evidence voters get is the Nebraska State Bar Association's 2026 Judicial Performance Evaluation — a biennial poll, run since 1984 and revised this cycle with the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, in which lawyers rate each judge on competence, impartiality, clarity of communication, temperament and administrative capacity, and answer the retention question. The NSBA released its 2026 results on July 28, 2026: lawyers recommended retention for 98% of the 132 judges evaluated statewide; 56% of judges received a 90%-or-higher retention approval, and no band in the release falls below 70%.
The honest gap: the NSBA's release reports the poll in aggregate; Judge Pirtle's individual percentage sits in the association's downloadable results file, which this research could not extract. What can be verified is the aggregate verdict above, his record below, and the absence of any contrary evidence. We print the gap rather than a number we did not read.
Judge Michael W. Pirtle
- Appointed by: Governor Dave Heineman, to the Court of Appeals in 2013 — thirteen years on the appellate bench. (The Nebraska Judicial Branch's 2014 State of the Judiciary records Pirtle among the court's then-new judges.)
- Evaluation: Covered by the NSBA's 2026 Judicial Performance Evaluation (aggregate results above; individual figure not extracted — see the honest gap).
- Credits: Thirteen years of appellate service on a six-judge court that carries Nebraska's intermediate appellate workload, retained by the voters at his intervening retention elections across that span, with the state's lawyers recommending retention for 98% of judges evaluated in the 2026 poll he was part of.
- Dirt: None documented. Our research — the NSBA evaluation release, the Judicial Branch's voters' guide to retention elections, and Nebraska coverage — surfaced no disciplinary record, no ethics finding, no reversal pattern presented as a performance case, and no organized campaign against his retention.
OUR CALL
Our rule: Retain is the verdict for a judge with a serviceable documented record; removal requires proven cause — documented misconduct, proven activist judging that breaks faith with the law, or an evaluation failure. Thirteen years of service, a bar poll in which the state's lawyers recommended keeping 98% of the judges evaluated, and an empty adverse column do not add up to proven cause. The one thing we could not verify — his individual poll percentage — is disclosed above rather than guessed, and it does not change the call on this record.
Retain: Michael W. Pirtle. Do not retain: none.
For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website. Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same. --- Sources - Nebraska State Bar Association, July 28, 2026 — 2026 Judicial Performance Evaluation results (98% of 132 judges recommended for retention; revised IAALS instrument) — https://www.nebar.com/?pg=nsbafeaturednews&blAction=showEntry&blogEntry=148714 - Nebraska Judicial Branch — Voters' Guide to Nebraska's Judicial Retention Elections (merit system; Bar Poll as the evaluation resource) — https://nebraskajudicial.gov/administration/public/voters%E2%80%99-guide-nebraska%E2%80%99s-judicial-retention-elections - Nebraska Supreme Court — State of the Judiciary 2014 (Pirtle among the Court of Appeals' new judges, appointed in the 2011–2013 turnover) — http://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/sites/default/files/publication-report-files/state-of-judiciary-2014.pdf - 2026 United States judicial elections (compilation citing Ballotpedia) — roster verification (Pirtle the sole Nebraska appellate retention; no Supreme Court retention until 2028) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_judicial_elections
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.