2021 Charlotte City Council Elections Will Likely Be Delayed

Charlotte is scheduled to hold its city elections later this year, but due to delay in census data it may get pushed back a year. After an intense 2020 election year, it may sound strange to push back a city's election; however, it is legal under North Carolina state law.

According to WCNC, cities review census data every 10 years to determine if district maps should be redrawn by population growth. While normally, cities received data by the end of March, Charlotte doesn't expect to get its data until September because of COVID-19. Because of this, the city will either push back the elections by a year or use an older election map, which could lead to a lawsuit.

Charlotte City Attorney Patrick Baker said the likelihood of the city holding an election this year is "slim to none." He did reassure that the delay is in line with state law.

"The city does have the option under the NCGS 160A-23.1 to delay elections if it appears that redistricting — that we won't have the information that we need to have prior to that July 21 deadline to let folks know what the new districts are going to be," he said.

In a meeting Monday (February 22), the city council voted to hold off on making a decision about the election, WCNC reports, and will wait to see what the North Carolina General Assembly could say about it.

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