Democratic and Republican voters in Carbon County will participate in three state judicial races in the primary election on Tuesday.

The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in each of the county's 51 precincts.The state court races include the Supreme Court, where three nominations are up for grabs in both parties, and the Superior and Commonwealth courts, both having one seat to be filled by the electorate.Here is a summary of the judicial contests:Supreme CourtSix Democrats and six Republicans are bidding for three nominations on each ballot, with the winners to square off in November for the positions that pay $203,409 annually.The Democrats are Kevin M. Dougherty, a Philadelphia judge who supervises the trial division of Philadelphia's court system who has spent most of his 14-year career dealing with troubled juveniles and families in the family division.David Wecht, a Superior Court judge since 2011 who previously was an Allegheny County jurist and register of wills and clerk of orphans' court.Christine Donohue, a Lansford native who was elected to the Superior Court in 2007.John Henry Foradora, president judge of Jefferson County.Ann E. Lazarus, who was elected to the Superior Court in 2009 and previously was a Philadelphia judge.Dwayne D. Woodruff, former Pittsburgh Steeler who has been an Allegheny County judge since 2005.The Republicans are Anne Covey, a state Commonwealth Court judge.Mike George, an Adams County judge.Judy Olson, a Superior Court judge since 2009 who in 2008 was appointed by Gov. Ed Rendell to fill a temporary vacancy on the Allegheny County Court.Correale Stevens, who was appointed to the court in 2013 by Gov. Tom Corbett. Stevens is 69, meaning if he is elected, he will only serve one year since the state constitution requires Pennsylvania judges to retire by the end of the year in which they turn 70.Rebecca Warren, who is completing a four-year term as Montour County's district attorney.Cheryl Allen, who was elected to the Superior Court in 2008 and previously served as an Allegheny Court judge.The Pennsylvania Supreme court consists of seven justices each elected to 10-year terms.The three seats open were previously held by Joan Orie Melvin, who resigned effective May 1, 2013, following conviction on public corruption charges involving the illegal use of judicial staff in her unsuccessful 2003 and her successful 2009 election campaigns for the Supreme Court; Justice Seamus McCaffery, who resigned on Oct. 27, 2014, following his suspension by his fellow justices; and Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille, who reached the mandatory age 70 retirement effective Dec. 31, 2014.Superior CourtMeanwhile, there is one Superior Court position to be filled this year by the electorate, that being the term of Patricia H. Jenkins. She was appointed to the post in 2013 as an interim judge whose term ends at the end of the year.Two Democrats are running for one nomination, including Robert J. Colville, a judge on the Allegheny Court of Common Pleas, and Alice B. Dubow, a Philadelphia County Common Pleas judge.The winner will face Republican Emil Giordano, a current Common Pleas judge in Northampton County.The Superior Court is one of two statewide intermediate appellate courts, the other being the Commonwealth Court. Superior Court judges, who are paid $191,926, review most of the civil and criminal cases that are appealed from the Court of Common Pleas in the state's 657 counties. The court's judges also review and decide on wiretapping applications presented by the state's Attorney General and district attorneys under Pennsylvania's Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act.The Superior Court consists of 15 judges who serve 10-year terms.Commonwealth CourtThere is also one nomination available in each party for a 10-year term on the Commonwealth Court. The job pays $191,926.There is a race between two Democrats, including R. Todd Eagen of Dunmore and Michael H. Wojcik of Fox Chapel, Allegheny County. Both are private practice attorneys.The winner of that race will face Republican Paul N. Lalley of Upper St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, who is also a private practice attorney. He is unopposed.The jurisdiction of the nine-judge Commonwealth Court is limited to appeals from final orders of certain state agencies and certain designated cases from the Court of Common Pleas involving public sector legal questions and government regulation. The Commonwealth Court also functions as a trial court in some civil actions by or against the Commonwealth government and cases regarding statewide elections.The court's current president judge, Dan R. Pellegrini, will relinquish his position on the court at the end of the year due to him reaching mandatory retirement age of 70 this year.