Delays in gathering national census data caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have thrown the fate of North Carolina’s local elections scheduled for 2021, including the City of New Bern’s, into confusion.
New Bern Board of Aldermen Attorney Scott Davis said based on current information the census data would not be in until August or September, making it impossible for the redistricting process to be completed by the state mandated deadline of July 21, which is required to hold municipal elections next October.
The current Board of Aldermen, as well as Mayor Dana Outlaw, were elected to four year terms in November 2017 and would normally have served until December of 2021. However, due to delays in the 2020 U.S. census data, New Bern’s next municipal election will likely be pushed to 2022.