North Carolina’s primaries in congressional and legislative races have been delayed by more than two months as the parties wrangle over redistricting plans heavily favoring Republicans.
The North Carolina Supreme Court has pushed back the state’s primary elections from March until May 2022, citing the legal challenges to the state’s redrawn district maps.
The court’s Wednesday order directed state election officials to hold primary elections on May 17, rather than March 8, to allow lower courts to proceed with challenges as to whether new Republican-drawn districts approved by the state’s legislature are constitutional. The order also suspends all candidate filing until the litigation is resolved. Candidate filings were halted and restarted this week as the court considered lawsuits over the new districts.
Multiple lawsuits were filed alleging the new districts are the product of partisan and racial gerrymandering.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, said in a statement issued the following statement about the order by the state Supreme Court, which has a 4-3 Democratic majority over Republican justices.
“Today’s order by the state Supreme Court restores faith in the rule of law, and it is necessary for the court to rule on the constitutionality of these unfair districts before the next election,” Cooper said.
North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore, a Republican, said in a statement, “I am deeply disappointed in the State Supreme Court’s decision to halt and further delay our election process that is already underway.”
“To throw this process into chaos in the middle of filing leaves North Carolinians with uncertainty ahead of the election,” Moore said. “Despite this delay, we are confident that we will prevail at trial and our maps will stand.”
North Carolina will add a congressional seat next year after the 2020 census found population growth in the state. The map, as it now stands, will likely leave at least 10 of 14 seats in Republican control. The state’s 13-seat delegation includes eight Republicans and five Democrats.
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North Carolina is not the only state facing legal challenges to its new congressional maps. The Justice Department recently sued Texas, arguing that its map disadvantages minority voters.
