There will be one race on every ballot in North Carolina’s previously unscheduled June 7 primary because the state Supreme Court couldn’t agree whether a law that led a colleague to seek re-election through a new method complied with the state constitution. Justices deadlocked 3-3 this month on a lower court ruling that struck down the law giving Associate Justice Robert Edmunds of Greensboro the option to run alone for a new term in November and try to keep his job based on an up-or-down vote of support. That kept February’s decision of three trial judges intact, thus returning the election to a traditional head-to-head race. Edmunds and three challengers — Sabra Jean Faires of Cary, Michael Morgan of Raleigh and Daniel Robertson of Advance — are candidates on the primary ballot that also will include delayed congressional primaries in most parts of the state. The top two vote-getters advance to the general election.
The “retention election” law has an intrinsic role in the campaign. Faires filed the lawsuit challenging the concept, saying it prevented her from challenging Edmunds, who has served on the state’s highest court since 2001.
In a campaign video, Faires blames “Raleigh politicians” for passing the law “to stack the membership of the court and protect the incumbent.” While North Carolina judicial elections are officially nonpartisan, four out of the seven justices are registered Republicans, including Edmunds. Morgan and Robertson are registered Democrats. Faires is registered as unaffiliated.
Full Article: With retention idea blocked, Supreme Court primary goes on | The-Dispatch.com.