West Virginia Circuit Courts

In 2015, the Legislature changed the law to provide that future elections will be on a non-partisan basis.

When a vacancy occurs, the governor of West Virginia appoints a judge, who must run in the next election to retain his or her seat.

The payment and supervision of judges was also transferred from county to state responsibility in that year.

Divorce jurisdiction was handled in a variety of informal ways until 1986 when a "Family Law Master" system was established, making "recommended decisions" to the judge.

For example, in Kanawha County, voters were asked to vote for "not more than seven" and the top seven won election.