North Carolina election official reacts to delayed filing amid gerrymandering lawsuits

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - Just one day after candidate filing resumed, North Carolina’s highest court blocked the filing process for the second time this week.

Dave Davis, Pitt County elections director, says he wasn’t surprised by the move.

“We kind of figured it was going to happen,” he said. “We hoped it would take place before filing even started, but it’s that crazy time of the year.”

Candidate filing started, paused, restarted, and paused again in less than 48 hours.

The reason? A Republican-led legislature approved a new North Carolina redistricting map that critics have said are partisan and racially gerrymandered.

Davis says he’s seen situations like this in the past.

“In the past few years, it’s happened more often,” Davis said.

“As far as things getting rescheduled or having to do special elections like when Congressman Walter Jones passed away... It’s been a very interesting past few years.”

While residents await a verdict from the state Supreme Court, Davis wants to remind those who plan to run that there is no deadline to file now.

“We just kind of take it as it comes,” Davis said. “We’re always in the planning mode of the next election and now it just gives us two more months to plan and get the poll workers and get them trained.”

The primary is now pushed back to May 17, 2022 for all offices including legislative seats in the U.S. House and Senate.

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