With case set for Jan. 19 conference, Republicans say justices are likely to hear appeal, making special elections this year impossible
By Barry Smith
Carolina Journal
January 11, 2017
The U.S. Supreme Court put a temporary halt to a three-judge panel’s order to hold special legislative elections later this year, and the top election official in the N.C. House thinks the justices eventually will toss out the off-year election plan.
Rep. David Lewis, R-Harnett, said he was delighted by the Supreme Court’s stay. Lewis is chairman of the House Rules Committee and co-chairman of the House Elections Committee.
“We believed in 2011 and continue to believe today that we followed the law in drawing legislative districts,” Lewis said.
“Only one court has ruled against us,” Lewis said, referring to the three-judge panel. “It went as far as to say that we would have to cut recently elected members’ terms short, spend millions of dollars to hold elections for members of the General Assembly in 2017, instead of letting them complete their terms in 2018. I think the Supreme Court recognized how absurd this was and stood up to an activist judge.” Read the rest of this entry
