PEMBROKE — The Lumbee Tribe Election Board has until Wednesday to reissue absentee ballots for the upcoming Nov. 9 tribal election as ordered by the Supreme Court of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

The name of Lumbee tribal chairman candidate, Ron Oxendine, will be excluded from the reissued ballots after the tribal supreme court decision in David Locklear v. Ron Oxendine to disqualify Oxendine from the running.

The modified ballots will be issued to Lumbee Tribe members who have already voted via absentee ballot or members who are waiting for their absentee ballot, according to letter published by the Lumbee Tribe Elections Board. The deadline for absentee ballots to be received has been extended to Nov. 12. The previous deadline was Nov. 5.

The Supreme Court ordered the Lumbee Tribal Council and Administration to obligate and/or appropriate any additional funds necessary to carry out the intent of the order.

The order was made Friday during a special-called meeting of the Supreme Court of Lumbee Tribe after the Election Board announced on its social media page that the election would be postponed until December. The announcement has since been deleted.

“The Court having reviewed the Election Board’s Resolution, and defenses thereof, find they are not in compliance with the Court’s October 20, 2021 ruling,” read court documents of the final decision. “The Election Board, while having the authority to set election dates, times, and polling sites in general, did not have the unilateral authority to postpone or delay the election set by Court Order.”

In the order, the supreme court sites the election board’s decision to postpone the election as being “arbitrary and capricious in light of the intrusive and significant effect a delayed election will have on the voters.”

“The Election Board, when asked about delaying the election during the October 14, 2021 hearing, resoundingly stated they did not believe the election should be postponed,” the court decision continued. “At no time during this Court’s deliberation, from October 14 thru October 20, 2021, did the Election Board express any concerns regarding its ability to carry out its responsibilities for the scheduled November 9, 2021 election.”

Included in the tribal supreme court decision is the appointment of Dock Locklear as a “observer” for the court. Locklear will have “unfettered access to the Election Board processes, meetings, and other activities” until the Nov. 9 election results are certified by the Election Board.

All actions by the supreme court and election board were prompted after a hearing found that Ron Oxendine was in violation of the Article VIII of Constitution of The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. The Article states that candidates must maintain a principle place of residence within the tribal territory preceding one year prior to January 2022, which is when the next chairman’s term is set to commence.

Oxendine filed for the chairman seat Aug. 23, the first day of two-week filing period. He was facing three other candidates for the chairman seat including Theresa Locklear, who serves on the Pembroke Town Council; John Lowery, a former Lumbee Tribal Council member; and Corbin Eddings, a current Lumbee Tribal Council member. The sitting chairman, Harvey Godwin Jr. is serving his second consecutive term, meaning he is not eligible to seek reelection.

There are also eight candidates running for council seats in districts 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 and 14.

Polls for the election open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 9.