Should Charlotte mayoral and at-large races be delayed? Council wants public input

CHARLOTTE — Due to Census delays, district representative elections for the Charlotte City Council won’t be held until spring 2022. But a bill awaiting Gov. Roy Cooper’s signature would allow cities and towns to hold mayoral and at-large elections on schedule in 2021.

The Charlotte City Council is weighing whether to split the races or move everything to 2022.

“I don’t care if I run in November,” Mayor Pro Tem Julie Eiselt said. “I don’t care if I run in April.”

The Charlotte City Council’s budget and effectiveness committee declined to take a stance on the issue and, instead, is asking for the full council to discuss the topic on June 28. The council hopes to hear from the public whether all races should be delayed.

“I say we let our voters decide on this, because they have an expectation we have an election this year,” Councilwoman Renee Johnson said.

The optics of delaying more elections than necessary may not look good, but there will be an extra cost to split the races. The city said holding an election this fall will cost $850,000, and the city will be on the hook for $340,000 of it.

[City attorney: Likelihood of 2021 Charlotte elections ‘slim to none’]

Elections Director Michael Dickerson said it doesn’t make a difference to him whether or not there is a city election this year.

“We’ll be ready,” Dickerson said. “We’ll be ready for whatever they decide.”

Even if Charlotte delays everything to 2022, there will still be a few races in the suburbs on the 2021 ballot that Dickerson will oversee.

But it will be a very different change of pace.

As an example of an issue, during the vote, @SenatorMGraham dropped off the call (he was virtual) but was not excused. So he counts as a yes vote. So the committee just voted 3-2 to recommend at least 3 councilmembers have to be present in person for committee meetings @wsoctv
— Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) June 17, 2021

“We’re still recovering from the 2020 presidential elections, so it would be a nice break,” he said.

The district primary races will be on March 8, 2022 with the election on April 26, 2022. The City Council must notify the board of elections by July 19 if they want mayoral and at-large elections in 2021.

The Charlotte City Council is holding a public forum on the topic on June 28.