(The Center Square) – The North Carolina Senate will decide Wednesday whether to delay the primary election by three weeks as the state Supreme Court reviews the state's new legislative district maps.
The maps were approved by the Republican-led Legislature, but voting advocacy groups have sued to block them, claiming that they were drawn to maintain the partisan advantage.
The ongoing legal battle could cause an issue for the current schedule, Senate Republicans said. The Supreme Court's hearing is scheduled for Feb. 2, only 12 days before the North Carolina State Board of Elections deadline for finalizing the district lines.
"That is an extremely short timeframe that will cause unnecessary confusion and chaos," Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell, co-chair of Senate Committee on Redistricting and Elections, said in a news release.
If the Senate approves the extension, the legislation will be sent to the House for review. Gov. Roy Cooper would have to approve the bill in order for it to become law. It would be second delay of the primaries because of the case.
Plaintiffs argued Republican map drawers constructed the maps behind closed doors. The court case revealed key Republicans destroyed a map that was to remain part of public record according to law. The court in December postponed the primaries from March 8 to May 17 so that the case could be reviewed.
Wake County Circuit Court judges dismissed the case on Jan. 11 and ruled the maps were not gerrymandered. The plaintiffs then sought the Supreme Court's input on the case, stalling the district maps again. The Senate now is considering rescheduling the primaries for June 7.
Hise's office said if the court strikes down the maps, it will also mean the General Assembly would have only a short amount of time to construct new maps and candidates would have days to figure out whether they still want to run in the new districts.
The Legislature must reconstruct district maps every 10 years, corresponding with the release of U.S. census data. The 2020 census showed the state's population grew by more than 888,000 residents. Lawmakers had to add a congressional district because of the population growth. The Legislature started the redistricting process in August.