The number of superior court judges in each county is set by statute.  Any change in the number of full and part-time judges in a county's superior court is determined by the Legislature after receiving a recommendation from the Board of Judicial Administration (BJA).  The BJA's recommendation is based on an objective workload analysis developed annually by the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC).  The objective workload analysis considers available judicial resources and the caseload activity of the court.

The Washington State Constitution provides that the state and the county share the cost for superior court judges.  A superior court judge's benefits and one-half of the salary are paid by the state; the remaining half is paid by the county.  For an additional judicial position to become effective, the legislative authority of the affected county must approve the position and agree to pay out of county funds and without reimbursement from the state, expenses associated with the new position.

Thurston County has eight elected superior court judges.

The number of statutorily authorized superior court judge positions for Thurston County is increased from eight to nine.

The additional position is effective November 1, 2021, and only if the legislative authority of Thurston County approves of the position and agrees that the county will pay its share of the cost of the position without reimbursement from the state.