North Carolina’s second primary for the Nov. 8 general election is June 7.

After a three-judge panel of Federal judges declared two North Carolina US Congressional Districts unconstitutional on Feb. 5 it gave the state until Feb. 19 to redraw the districts.

The NC House and Senate voted to keep the March 15 primary in place for all primaries or votes scheduled, but hold the US Congressional Primary on June 7.

The June 7 primary has since added an associate justice to the NC Supreme Court and local issues, if applicable.

The June 7 primary voters started casting votes in early voting beginning Thursday, May 26. Early voting will crank back up on Tuesday, May 31, following the Memorial Day holiday on Monday.

Early voting is 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday – Friday and 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 4 in all four counties.

Each of the four counties in the Roanoke-Chowan area will have only one polling place open for early voting: Bertie (the County Board of Elections office in Windsor); Northampton (the County Board of Elections office in Jackson); Hertford (the Cooperative Extension Office in Winton); and Gates (the Gates County Public Library in Gatesville).

On June 7, all polling places in the four counties will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Acceptable picture ID is required to vote.

U.S. House incumbent G.K. Butterfield is unopposed in the primary and will not be on the ballot. There are no local initiatives on the ballot for this primary.

All four counties have only one race to decide: a nonpartisan vote for Associate Justice for the NC Supreme Court.

The four candidates vying for that seat are, in order that they appear on the ballot, which is essentially the same ballot regardless of party affiliation: Michael R. (Mike) Morgan, Daniel Robertson, Robert Edmunds, and Sabra J. Faires.

Below are brief statements from each candidate. They were presented for voter information by the state Board of Elections:

 

Michael R. (Mike) Morgan

“I am proud to run for the position of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on the strength of the diversity of my professional, teaching and community background which has eminently prepared me with the wealth of experience which this judicial office inherently requires.

“With more than 26 years of current judicial service, 24 years of current teaching tenure at The National Judicial College instructing other judges and a long record of community involvement and uplift, I have a unique preparation in the ability to legally analyze, assiduously study yet humanly understand the challenges of society with which the Supreme Court is presented.

“As a Supreme Court Justice, I shall continue my judicial and personal commitment to promote and preserve fairness, impartiality and justice for all in North Carolina’s court system. Please visit my website at www.judgemichaelmorgan.com for more information about my credentials and this campaign.

“I humbly ask for your vote and support, and thank you for your consideration.”

 

Daniel Robertson

“Unlike most of the candidates for the Supreme Court, I am a political outsider who has never held political office, lives outside the Raleigh beltway and has extensive experience working directly for North Carolina citizens and businesses.

“I therefore know the struggles most citizens and businesses face to survive in a world filled with burdensome regulations, taxes and requirements imposed by a government clearly divorced from its own people.

“As a result of my many years of legal experience, I know the legal system, how it works, sometimes doesn’t, and why.

“I want to serve on the North Carolina Supreme Court to ensure that the rights and liberties of all North Carolinians are fully preserved and that the laws are equally and fairly applied to all — regardless of their wealth, connections, power or politics.”

 

Robert Edmunds

“As the only candidate with experience on the Supreme Court, my record is an open book.

“The opinions I have written are available at www.nccourts.org. These opinions demonstrate impartiality, respect for our state and Federal constitutions, and dedication to the rule of law.

“As a result, I enjoy bipartisan support of most of North Carolina’s leading lawyers, including four former Chief Justices, former presidents of the North Carolina State Bar and North Carolina Bar Association, and almost all of North Carolina’s elected sheriffs.

“The best guide to my qualifications is the judgment of those who have observed my work. In 2006, United States Chief Justice Rehnquist asked me to be the only state judge on the Federal Criminal Rules Committee. Chief Justice Roberts later reappointed me to that committee.

“Other judges selected me to chair the 2015 Appellate Judges Education Institute and to co-edit the American Bar Association’s Judges Journal.

“I will become Chair-elect of the American Bar Association’s Appellate Judges Conference this June. I have been elected to the American Law Institute. I did not seek any of these positions. My peers asked me to undertake them.

“For additional details, please visit my web page, www.JusticeEdmunds.com.”

 

Sabra J. Faires

“I am an independent unaffiliated voter and am running for Supreme Court justice to get politics out of our highest court.

“If elected, I pledge to be diligent and fair and to apply the law without ideological agenda. I fought for the right to run in this election by successfully challenging an unconstitutional law passed last year by the NC legislature prohibiting everyone but the current justice from running. “But for my lawsuit, voters would not have a choice in this election. I value impartiality and fairness and have consistently applied these values throughout my career.

“My record of fairness and my experience on three sides of the law – writing laws, enforcing laws, and interpreting laws for clients – gives me a unique perspective on the intent and language of the law and makes me a uniquely qualified candidate.

“Visit me and learn more at www.sabrajeanfairesforjustice.com I would be honored to serve you on the Supreme Court and I appreciate your vote.”