RALEIGH, N.C. — Political primaries that were already delayed by an order from the North Carolina Supreme Court could now potentially be pushed back further into 2022.
The state senate met Wednesday afternoon to vote on House Bill 605, which would further delay 2022 primaries until June 2022. Previously, the state's highest court had ordered primaries to be delayed from January 2022 until May 2022. However, legal challenges to redistricting maps favorable to Republicans further spurred the call from the GOP to delay primaries even more.
A three-judge panel had previously ruled in favor of the new maps, but all eyes then turned to the state Supreme Court. The state's highest court could have also further delayed primaries.
The 26 ayes, all from Republican senators, won over the 17 noes from Democrats. Five state Senate Democrats had an excused absence, one Republican did not vote, and another Republican also had an excused absence.
The bill passed the House 69-50 just moments after making it through the Senate.
In addition to pushing back primaries, H.B. 605 also delays some municipal elections originally slated for 2021 into 2022 as well. This comes months after Charlotte's own municipal elections were postponed because of delayed data from the U.S. Census. City leaders cited a growing population for the original delay and said they wanted to ensure new voting district maps were fair.
H.B. 605 passing through the Senate and the House does not guarantee its passage. Gov. Roy Cooper can still veto it; while Republicans still hold majorities in both chambers, they lost a veto-proof majority in the 2020 election cycle.
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