Top NC court will not review Senate candidate’s disqualification

The North Carolina Supreme Court will not review an appeal from a woman disqualified from this year’s Republican US Senate primary. Margot Dupre had asked the high court to step into her legal dispute in February.

Michael Whatley won the March 3 primary with nearly 65% of the vote. Dupre finished last among seven GOP primary candidates, securing 14,887 votes (2.4%).

Election officials counted Dupre’s votes despite ruling her ineligible as a candidate after a residency challenge.

“Petitioner Margot Dupre’s motion for a temporary stay filed 20 February 2026 is hereby denied,” according to a Supreme Court order issued Tuesday. “The Respondent N.C. State Board of Elections’ motion to dismiss Petitioner’s appeal, filed 5 March 2026, is allowed because the Court agrees with Respondent that Petitioner’s appeal is still pending at the Court of Appeals and therefore any review by this Court at this time would be premature.”

The court also dismissed a request from election integrity activist Jay DeLancy to file a friend-of-the-court brief in the case. Justices issued that ruling “because arguments regarding whether any issues raised in this appeal are moot are properly directed to the Court of Appeals, where the appeal is presently pending.”

Dupre turned to the high court after the state Appeals Court ruled against her on Feb. 17.

North Carolina election officials explained in a late February Supreme Court filing why they planned to count votes cast for Dupre, despite the fact that she had been disqualified from the race after a residency challenge.

“Petitioner is one of seven candidates for U.S. Senate in the March 3, 2026 primary election and is the first name on the ballot for the contest,” state lawyers wrote. “Petitioner’s Request to Stay the State Board’s Decision should be denied as her name will remain on the Republican Party ballot for the March 3, 2026 primary election.”

Based on a challenge to Dupre’s residency from voter Jerry Bryan Reinoehl, the state elections board held a hearing and issued a decision that Dupre “‘has not satisfied the requirements to seek office through a party primary’ and concluded that Petitioner is not eligible to be a candidate for the office of U.S. Senate in North Carolina’s Republican Party primary contest,” Justice Department lawyers explained.

“The injury Petitioner appears to be claiming is her alleged ‘exclusion from a congressional primary’ as a result of the State Board’s Decision,” the court filing continued. “Petitioner further argues that a stay would preserve the status quo.”

“Petitioner is mistaken. She has not been excluded from participation in the Republican Primary because of the State Board’s Decision. Petitioner’s name is on and will remain on the ballot, and votes cast in her favor will be counted,” Justice Department lawyers explained. “Thus, a stay of the State Board’s Decision is not necessary to preserve the status quo as Petitioner contends — Petitioner remains a candidate on the Republican Party ballot for the March 3, 2026 primary election, notwithstanding the State Board’s Decision and Order that she is disqualified as a candidate in the party primary.”

“The reason that Petitioner’s name is on, and will remain on the Republican Party primary ballot, is because the challenge to Petitioner’s candidacy was not resolved before absentee voting began in North Carolina, and there is no law to the contrary,” the court filing continued. “Votes for Petitioner will, therefore, be counted and reported.”

Changing the ballot is “not practical when a candidate is disqualified or otherwise deemed ineligible after voting in the primary election has begun,” Justice Department lawyers added.

“It is not practical at this late stage in the March 3, 2026 primary election to have ballots for the Republican Party primary reprinted,” the court filing continued. “Thus, Petitioner will remain on the ballot. And, in the absence of law instructing otherwise, any votes cast for Petitioner will be counted and reported.”

If Dupre secured the most votes, a state law — N.C.G.S. ß 163-114 — explains how a political party would fill a vacancy created when a nominee “becomes ineligible or disqualified before the date of the ensuing general election.”

DeLancy’s brief would have highlighted an issue that could arise in the future when a disqualified candidate’s votes end up affecting the outcome of a tighter contest.

The disqualified candidate’s votes could determine whether a leading candidate has secured more than 30% of the primary vote. State law sets that threshold to determine whether a candidate wins the primary.

“This case presents a narrow but important question of statutory interpretation arising from an unusual procedural posture: The State Board has determined that Petitioner is not eligible to seek the nomination, yet her name remains on the ballot and votes cast in her favor will be counted,” wrote DeLancy, who also serves on the Lee County elections board.

“North Carolina’s primary-election framework requires nominees to be determined using the substantial-plurality formula set forth in N.C.G.S. § 163-111(a)(1). That formula depends mathematically on the universe of votes counted ‘for all aspirants,’ a term the statute does not define,” DeLancy added.

“Where, as here, votes may be counted for a candidate deemed ineligible, the inclusion of those votes necessarily affects the denominator used to calculate the thirty-percent threshold,” he explained. “Clarification from this Court regarding the proper treatment of such votes would promote uniform and predictable election administration statewide.”

Dupre’s votes did not affect the outcome of her race. The situation would have been different if the leading candidate secured a vote total closer to the 30% threshold.

The case “highlights a potential ambiguity” in state law: “whether the General Assembly intended the term [aspirant] to encompass all individuals whose names appear on the ballot, or only those candidates who are legally qualified to seek the nomination. Clarification of that statutory term would assist election officials in applying the substantial-plurality formula in a consistent and administrable manner,” DeLancy argued.

The issue in Dupre’s case “is not limited to the unusual facts of this case,” DeLancy added. “Similar timing conflicts are likely to arise in future election cycles because the statutory timelines — governing candidate challenges, ballot preparation, and absentee voting — necessarily overlap. As a result, ballots may already be printed and distributed — because absentee voting must begin weeks before election day under N.C.G.S. § 163-227.10 — before eligibility disputes are fully resolved.”

“Top NC court will not review Senate candidate’s disqualification” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.