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The most important races on this year’s ballot: NC Supreme Court
Early voting starts on Thursday, October 20 and this year, there are two races for seats on the NC Supreme Court that could have a greater impact on our industry than any other race on the ballot.
So, why are these races for the NC Supreme Court so important?
The most obvious example is that a challenge to NC’s updated Right to Farm law – which was adopted in response to a federal court ignoring the previous law – is currently pending in front of the NC Supreme Court.
And, as you know, the state swine general permit that went into effect in 2019 has been tangled up in a legal challenge for the last three years. NC Farm Bureau appealed the permit on the basis that it contains provisions that DEQ did not have the authority to enact. The case has made its way up through the system and is now pending before the NC Court of Appeals but there is a very good chance that it could end up before the NC Supreme Court as well.
There are two seats up for election on the state’s highest court. The first race is between incumbent Democratic candidate Sam Ervin and Trey Allen, a Republican. Allen currently serves as the general counsel in the Office of Administrative Hearings. The other seat up for election is between GOP candidate Richard Dietz and Lucy Inman, a Democrat. Both of these candidates currently serve together on the NC Court of Appeals.
The outcome of these races will decide which party holds the majority on the NC Supreme Court -- and for the NC pork industry, the stakes could not be higher.
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