RALEIGH, N.C. — The clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives will officially be taking over to handle constituent concerns after the North Carolina State Board of Elections notified the clerk of the 9th District's vacancy.
NCSBE General Counsel Josh Lawson notified Clerk Cheryl Johnson and parliamentarian Tom Wickham of the order of a new election in the 9th Congressional District. The letter notified the clerk of the dates for the new election.
“Our state greatly appreciates all actions that may be authorized by your office to enable ongoing provision of services to residents within the district,” Lawson wrote.
Thursday afternoon, Johnson responded to the notice saying, help is on the way for people of the 9th District.
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The clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives will now take over the 9th District office to handle constituent services. Typically the clerk takes over the office when a governor declares a vacancy. However, given the unprecedented nature of the 9th District election, it wasn't until NCSBE's letter.
“The House’s interest in such a letter is to formally notify the body and to memorialize that action for the precedents of the House,” Wickham wrote to NCSBE.
According to an email from Wickham to NCSBE obtained by Channel 9, the letter will be laid before the House of Representatives and printed in the Congressional Record to serve as notification of the board’s action.
Before today, the only official action of the House related to the 9th District came when the clerk announced on Jan. 3 that no certification of election from that district had been received.
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The clerk will oversee the 9th District Office until a new representative is sworn in.
The primary will be held on May 14. The general election will be on Sept. 10 unless a second primary is necessary. A second primary is triggered when no candidate gets more than 30 percent of the vote. If a second primary is needed, it will be on Sept. 10. The general election would then be on Nov. 5.