ROCKINGHAM — Those who were waiting to file for the 2022 election will have to wait longer.
The N.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction and temporarily stays “filing for all offices until such time as a final judgment on the merits of plaintiffs’ claims, including any appeals, is entered and a remedy, if any is required, has been ordered.”
The judicial order, which came down late Wednesday afternoon, also moves all primaries from March 8 to May 17, 2022.
The order goes on to state that:
“Any individual who has already filed to run for public office in 2022 and whose filing has been accepted by the appropriate board of elections, will be deemed to have filed for the same office under the new election schedule for the May 2022 primary unless they provide timely notice of withdrawal of their candidacy to the board of elections during the newly-established filing period; and except to the extent that a remedy in this matter, if any, impacts a candidate’s eligibility to hold the office for which they have currently filed. Any individual who has properly withdrawn their candidacy is free to file for any other office for which they may be eligible during the reopened filing period.”
Gov. Roy Cooper applauded the court’s decision.
“Today’s order by the state Supreme Court restores faith in the rule of law and it is necessary for the court to rule on the constitutionality of these unfair districts before the next election,” Cooper said in a statement.
However, at least one Republican member of the General Assembly has blasted the order, with Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell, calling it “secretive, unsigned decision.”
The order doesn’t carry the signature of any of the justices on the Supreme Court, just that of Clerk Amy Funderburk.
Hise’s office also points out in a press release that the order “only states that elections are blocked because the case is ‘important’ and of ‘public interest.'”
“The court didn’t even articulate a legal or factual basis for suspending elections,” said Hise, who serves as co-chair of the Senate Elections Committee. “The Democrats on the Supreme Court want districts that elect more Democrats, so they’re blocking every election in the state until they get their way.”
According to the N.C. State Board of Elections, more than 1,400 candidates have filed statewide.
This is the second temporary halt of filing for next year’s elections.
On Monday, a 3-judge panel of the N.C. Court of Appeals kept candidates for N.C. Senate as well as both the N.C. and U.S. Houses of Representatives from filing due to legal challenges of the new election maps. But that decision was overturned later in the day.
Prior to the court’s order, only one candidate filled out paperwork at the Richmond County Board of Elections.
Longtime educator Cory Satterfield filed to run for the Richmond County Board of Education.
The New Jersey native came to North Carolina on a scholarship to play baseball for Campbell University in Harnett County — which is where he began his career in education after playing a few years in the minor leagues.
His wife, Pam, was from Richmond County, so they made the move.
During his years with the school system, Satterfield taught physical education at L.J. Bell, served as principal of Ellerbe Junior High, as both an assistant principal and principal at Richmond Senior High School, and coached multiple sports.
Satterfield later worked as an assistant superintendent and served as interim superintendent for Scotland County Schools before retiring last March. He recently served as the grand marshal for Richmond Senior’s homecoming parade.
“I think education is the forefront of having a successful society,” Satterfield said, adding that he’d like to give back to the community using his 30 years of experience in education.
Satterfield said that, if elected, he would make every decision based on what’s best for the students and student learning.
Current School Board member Bobbie Sue Ormsby filed to run on Monday, as did challenger Scotty Baldwin. Ellerbe Town Commissioner Jeremy McKenzie filed on Tuesday.
The four seats up for reelection are currently held by Ormsby, Pat Campbell, Daryl Mason and Joe Richardson.
The school board is generally elected on the day of the primary, but they don’t take office until June, so Elections Director Connie Kelly said there should be no problem with the date being switched to May.
The Richmond County Board of Commissioners also has four seats up for grabs, currently held by Dr. Rick Watkins, Tavares Bostic, Justin Dawkins and Don Bryant.
Dawkins and Bryant both filed on Monday; Watkins and Bostic had not as of Wednesday.
However, Michael Legrand filed on Monday and Linda S. Ross on Tuesday.
Former Hamlet City Councilman Johnathan Buie, who is unaffiliated, has filed a petition request form to run next November for the board.
The other two local races up for reelection are for sheriff and clerk of court.
Sheriff Mark Gulledge and Clerk of Court Vickie Daniel both filed on Monday.
Nigel Bristow, who is actively campaigning for sheriff, intended to file but lacked certain paperwork because elections officials had a wrong email address for him. Kelly previously told the RO that Bristow should be able to complete the paperwork in time.
Ashley Brower also filed a petition request to run against Daniel.
On the state level, Rep. Ben Moss, R-Richmond, and Sen. Dave Craven, R-Randolph, filed to retain their respective seats and had no opposition by Wednesday.
State records show that District Attorney Reece Saunders has also filed, as have District Court judges Chevonne Wallace (Seat 03) and Chris Rhue (Seat 01).
UPDATED: This story has been modified to add quotes from Gov. Roy Cooper and Sen. Ralph Hise. 7:25 p.m. 12-8-21.
