North Carolina Supreme Court delays primary elections until May 2022
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 [December 09, 2021]
By Dan Whitcomb and Jahnavi Nidumolu
(Reuters) -The North Carolina Supreme Court
on Wednesday ordered primary elections in the state delayed from March
until May of 2022, citing legal challenges to gerrymandered political
maps.
The court in its five-page unsigned written ruling directed North
Carolina election officials to hold primaries for all state offices on
May 17.
The justices ordered a lower-court judge to hold further proceedings on
three lawsuits filed by Democrats and civil rights groups over the
redrawn maps, citing the great public interest in the subject matter of
these cases."
"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," North Carolina
Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat, said in a written statement.
Tim Moore, speaker of the Republican-controlled state legislature, said
in a statement posted to Twitter that he was disappointed in the court's
ruling.
"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."
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The Charlotte, North Carolina skyline is seen through the window of
an airplane ahead of the Democratic National Convention on September
2, 2012. REUTERS/Adrees Latif
The revised political maps, which were approved by the legislature,
gave Republicans advantages over Democrats in the majority of
districts.
The court's ruling also suspended candidate filing dates for the
2022 primary elections, including municipal races.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Jahnavi Nidumolu and Radhika Anilkumar;
Editing by Christopher Cushing and Richard Pullin)
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