North Carolina's 2017 special legislative elections ordered by the 4th Circuit Court Appeals are on hold thanks to the United States Supreme Court. 

 

The delay is so the Supreme Court can review an appeal to the special elections filed by North Carolina's Republican legislative leaders. The full Supreme Court will begin its review on January 19.   

 

A 4th Circuit panel ordered  a 2017 election was justified ruling “while special elections have costs, those costs pale in comparison to the injury caused by allowing citizens to continue to be represented by legislators elected pursuant to a racial gerrymander.”

In their appeal, Republicans argued that holding special elections is an extreme remedy.

 

Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) issued the following joint statement Tuesday after the U.S. Supreme Court halted a lower court’s ruling to throw out the results of the 2016 legislative elections.

 

“We are grateful the U.S. Supreme Court has quashed judicial activism and rejected an attempt to nullify the votes of North Carolinians in the 2016 legislative elections.”

 

Berger and Moore pointed out that the legislative districts that are being challenged were pre-cleared by the Obama Justice Department and twice upheld by the North Carolina Supreme Court.