State House and Senate leaders have agreed on a provision that cancels the 2018 primary elections for all judicial races and district attorneys. The provision was tacked onto the conference report for Senate Bill 656, titled the “Electoral Freedom Act.” Most of the bill deals with easing ballot access requirements for third parties as well as for unaffiliated candidates. It also lowers the threshold for a primary candidate to win his or her party’s nomination from 40 percent of the primary vote to 30 percent. “There are many folks in here who would seek to do away with the second [runoff] primary altogether,” sponsor Rep. David Lewis, R-Harnett, told the House Rules Committee Wednesday evening. “This would be a step at least in the direction of those who feel that way.”
However, one section of the bill moves the filing date for all 2018 judicial and district attorney races from February to June and eliminates the requirement for a primary for those races.
Lewis said the reason for the provision is House Bill 717, a judicial redistricting measure that Senate leaders have said they will not take up this week.
“The reason we are delaying the filing for judicial offices is we are serious about judicial redistricting,” he said, noting that many members of the public and the judiciary had advised lawmakers to “take our time and get it right.”
Full Article: Lawmakers plan to cancel 2018 judicial primaries :: WRAL.com.