Judges Block Congressional Candidate Filing In Battle Over Maps

RALEIGH – The General Assembly managed to, again, hold a public, transparent, and expeditious process to redraw and approve maps (along partisan lines) in response to Democrats’ lawsuits, but the final seal of approval for the latest Congressional maps redo hasn’t come soon enough to avoid some electoral delays. Judges blocked candidate filing for congressional races while the get all the official thumbs up, while Democrats are already working to sue all over again.

From the North State Journal:

“[…] The three-judge panel’s order, filed Thursday, means election officials can’t accept congressional candidate paperwork when the three-week filing period begins for other 2020 races on Dec. 2.

On the same day, the judges will hold a hearing that will address whether a lawsuit filed by voters challenging the previous district lines should end because the General Assembly enacted a new map last week. State election officials have said the congressional primary could still be held March 3 as previously scheduled if a final map is set by Dec. 15. […]”

These are the maps that were just voted out of the state legislature, earning Democrats a net pick up of two congressional seats in keeping with the spirit of the judicial overreach they’ve fomented. That would mean an 8-5 split among Republicans and Democrats, respectively. Right on cue, however, Democrats are again calling this likely result unfair because it doesn’t arbitrarily give them half North Carolina’s seats in congress.

As with the state legislative maps, hopefully the resolution comes quickly despite the licks taken by Republicans in order to satisfy the court’s decrees. Candidate filing is one thing; moving primary elections another altogether. Such hope maybe for not, though, because the Democrats are all but sure to keep the Sue til Blue drive alive for as long as it’s working.

Read more on the maps, the lawsuit, and what it could mean for elections here