Pierce County District Court Position No. 2
Pierce County, Washington
My vote power
Below average
Election date
November 3, 2026 · General election
How do we calculate my vote power?
What goes into the rating: Representation: how much weight one vote carries here compared with a statewide vote — the smaller the district, the more each vote counts. Decisiveness: how likely this race is to be close, based on past results or current analyst ratings, plus the number of candidates.
Representation: Above average · 59 out of 100
This district is a good deal smaller than its state, so each vote here carries more weight than a vote in a statewide race. About 930,319 people live here.
Show the representation math
score = 50 + 50 × ln(state population ÷ this district's) ÷ ln(50,000) = 50 + 50 × ln(7,816,116 ÷ 930,319) ÷ ln(50,000) = 59.84, measured against a statewide vote in WA (grades: 66+ high, 55+ above average, 33+ average, otherwise low; a statewide race is the 50 baseline)
Decisiveness: None · only 1 candidate
One candidate is running unopposed, so votes can't change the outcome.
Above average representation + an uncontested race → My vote power: Below average.
About this office
- Deciding trials in the county
- Ruling on evidence and setting sentences in criminal cases
- Deciding family, probate, and civil disputes
Affects: Public Safety and Crime Control, Housing Affordability, Civil Rights,
Candidates
Nonpartisan · Incumbent · declared
Claire Sussman is the presiding judge of Pierce County District Court, where she has served since 2010. She earlier spent six years as a deputy prosecutor and seven as a pro tempore judge, and her administrative work covers court rules and municipal-court supervision.
Records: Legal Competence 2 for, Impartiality 1 for
Sources: voter.votewa.gov2