2020 New Zealand general election, Electoral system, Electorate boundaries
Waitaki in turn took the Palmerston area from Dunedin North, allowing Dunedin North to take the Otago Peninsula from Dunedin South. The Otago-Southland boundary changes saw three electorates change names: Clutha-Southland to Southland, Dunedin North to Dunedin, and Dunedin South to Taieri. In the Tasman region, the town of Brightwater moved from Nelson to West Coast-Tasman to bring the latter electorate within quota.


2020 New Zealand general election, Electoral system, Electorate boundaries
Two electorates had name changes to correct their spelling. Rimutaka was renamed Remutaka in line with its namesake, the Remutaka Range, which was renamed in 2017 as part of a Treaty of Waitangi settlement. The Whangārei electorate was renamed by adding a macron to the second "a".


2020 New Zealand general election, Schedule
Unless an early election is called or the election date is set to circumvent holding a by-election, a general election is held every three years. The previous election was held on 23 September 2017.


2020 New Zealand general election, Schedule
The governor-general (Patsy Reddy) must issue writs for an election within seven days of the expiration or dissolution of the current parliament. Under section 17 of the Constitution Act 1986, parliament expires three years "from the day fixed for the return of the writs issued for the last preceding general election of members of the House of Representatives, and no longer." The writs for the 2017 election were returned on 12 October 2017; as a result, the 52nd Parliament would have to dissolve no later than 12 October 2020.


2020 New Zealand general election, Schedule
Consequently, the last day for issuance of the writs of election is 19 October 2020. Since the passage of the Electoral Amendment Act 2020, which came into force on 11 March 2020, the writs must be returned within 60 days of their issuance (save for any judicial recount, death of a candidate, or emergency adjournment), which would be 18 December 2020. Because polling day must be on a Saturday, and ten days is required for counting of special votes, the last possible date for this general election is 21 November 2020.


2020 New Zealand general election, Schedule
On 28 January 2020, Ardern announced that the election would be held on 19 September, with the 52nd Parliament holding its last sitting day on 6 August and dissolving on 12 August. On 17 August 2020, Ardern delayed the election to 17 October, with the dissolution of Parliament delayed until 6 September. The writ date for the election, which was originally set for 16 August, was subsequently delayed until 13 September. Political parties would have had to be registered by this day to contest the party vote.


2020 New Zealand general election, Schedule, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
The original date of 19 September was announced before the COVID-19 pandemic had reached New Zealand. In April 2020, the National Party doubted that the public would be ready for an election in September, and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters called for the election to be delayed to 21 November. In May 2020, Ardern said she did not intend to change the date of the election and Chief Electoral Officer Alicia Wright said that the Electoral Commission was working to the dates originally set by the Prime Minister.


2020 New Zealand general election, Schedule, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
After new cases of community transmission in Auckland were reported on 11 August 2020, with the COVID-19 alert level being raised to level 3 in the Auckland region and level 2 elsewhere, there were growing calls to delay the dissolution of Parliament and the election. The following day, Collins called for the election to be delayed until at least after November with the aim of allowing parties more time to campaign, and all major political parties suspended their campaigns. Delaying the dissolution of parliament beyond 12 October 2020, and therefore the election date beyond 28 November 2020, would require a legislative amendment. As the length of the parliamentary term is entrenched, such an amendment would require a 75% supermajority to pass.


2020 New Zealand general election, Schedule, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
On 12 August 2020, Prime Minister Ardern delayed the dissolution of Parliament until 17 August and was seeking advice from the Electoral Commission regarding the election timeline. On 17 August, Ardern announced that the general election would be pushed back to 17 October while the dissolution of Parliament would be delayed until 6 September.


2020 New Zealand general election, Schedule, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
The Chief Electoral Officer has powers under the Electoral Act to delay polling at some or all polling places for up to three days due to unforeseen circumstances. This can be extended for up to seven days at a time following consultation with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.


2020 New Zealand general election, Parties and candidates
Political parties registered with the Electoral Commission can contest the general election as a party. To register, parties must have at least 500 financial members, an auditor, and an appropriate party name. A registered party may submit a party list to contest the party vote, and can have a party campaign expenses limit in addition to limits on individual candidates' campaigns. Unregistered parties and independents can contest the electorate vote only.


2020 New Zealand general election, Parties and candidates
Seventeen of the eighteen registered parties submitted a list and contested the general election. The Mana Party did not submit a party list or apply for a broadcasting allocation, and has endorsed and offered its resources to the Māori Party.


2020 New Zealand general election, Parties and candidates, MPs standing for re-election as list-only MPs
Some incumbents who had previously stood in an electorate (but may have been returned as list representatives) stood as list-only candidates in the 2020 election.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Expense limits and broadcasting allocations
During the regulated period prior to election day, parties and candidates have limits on how much they may spend on election campaigning. The limits are updated every year to reflect inflation. It is illegal in New Zealand to campaign on election day itself, or within 10 metres of an advance polling booth.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Expense limits and broadcasting allocations
For the 2020 general election, the regulated period ran from 18 August to 16 October 2020. Every registered party contending the party vote was permitted to spend $1,199,000 plus $28,200 per electorate candidate on campaigning during the regulated period, excluding radio and television campaigning (broadcasting funding is allocated separately). For example, a registered party with candidates in all 72 electorates was permitted to spend $3,229,400 on campaigning for the party vote. Electorate candidates were permitted to spend $28,200 each on campaigning for the electorate vote.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Expense limits and broadcasting allocations
Registered parties are allocated a separate broadcasting budget for radio and television campaigning. Only money from the broadcasting allocation can be used to purchase airtime; production costs can come from the general election expenses budget. The Electoral Commission determines how much broadcasting funding each party gets, set out by part 6 of the Broadcasting Act 1989. The allocation is based a number of factors including the number of seats in the current Parliament, results of the previous general election and any by-elections since, and support in opinion polls.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Expense limits and broadcasting allocations
A joint statement was released on 9 June 2020 by the Social Credit Party, Māori Party, New Conservative Party, New Zealand Outdoors Party, and Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party in which they condemn the broadcasting allocations and call for reform.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Expense limits and broadcasting allocations
An initial broadcasting statement was released from the Electoral Commission on 29 May 2020, including parties that have not yet registered but intend to. The broadcasting allocation was revised on 11 September 2020, redistributing funds from parties that failed to register in time for the election. For comparison, the cost of a 30-second slot on TVNZ in October 2020 ranged from $250 in overnight slots up to $22,000 for slots during the 1 News at 6pm bulletin.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Expense limits and broadcasting allocations
Third-party promoters, such as trade unions and lobby groups, can campaign during the regulated period. The maximum expense limit for the election is $338,000 for those promoters registered with the Electoral Commission, and $13,600 for unregistered promoters. As of 29 September 2020, the following third-party promoters were registered for the general election (i.e. excluding those solely registered for one or both of the referendums).


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns
After the announcement of 19 September as election date, parties started their campaigns. Party campaigns throughout 2020 were heavily impacted by COVID-19, with parties unable to host events during alert levels 3 and 4.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, National
The National Party initially chose Paula Bennett as its campaign manager. (All previous elections since 2005 had seen National with Steven Joyce as campaign manager.) On 2 February 2020, Simon Bridges announced that National would not want to form a coalition with New Zealand First after the election should NZ First become kingmaker once again. Bridges stated: "I can't trust New Zealand First", adding that "A vote for NZ First is a vote for Labour and the Greens". Bridges said that he would, however, be open to working with ACT. NZ First leader Winston Peters criticised Bridges' decision, saying that "narrowing your options can be the worst strategic move you will ever make".


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, National
Owing to the four-week lockdown in New Zealand from 23 March during the COVID-19 pandemic, National temporarily suspended their campaign on the same day.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, National
On 22 May 2020, following low poll results for National in the week prior, a National parliamentary caucus meeting replaced Simon Bridges and Paula Bennett with Todd Muller and Nikki Kaye as leader and deputy leader respectively. In his first speech as leader, Muller expressed his openness to working with Winston Peters and New Zealand First after the election. In conjunction with a reshuffle of caucus responsibilities on 25 May, Muller announced that the party had replaced Bennett as campaign manager with Gerry Brownlee. On 14 July 2020 Muller himself resigned as National Party leader, citing mental health issues. An emergency party caucus meeting replaced him later that night with Collins, with Gerry Brownlee becoming the new deputy leader.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, National
After new cases of community transmission in Auckland were reported on 11 August, with the alert level being raised to level 3 in Auckland and level 2 elsewhere, National halted their campaigning for the duration of the lockdown.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, National
On 17 July, National announced they would spend $31 billion on transport projects over the coming decade and would abolish the Auckland regional fuel tax. On 11 September, National announced that they would allow electric vehicles in bus lanes, make one third of the Government's light vehicle fleet electric by 2023, and aim to have 80,000 electric vehicles in use by 2023 (four times more than there currently were). On 15 September, they announced a $30 million policy to improve children's dental care. On 29 September, National announced they would double funding for the Serious Fraud Office to $25 million annually and rename it to the Serious Fraud and Anti-corruption Agency.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, Labour
Megan Woods was chosen as campaign manager. On 29 January 2020, Ardern announced the New Zealand Upgrade Programme, a NZ$12 billion infrastructure improvement package. After new cases of community transmission in Auckland were reported on 11 August, with the alert level being raised to level 3 in Auckland and level 2 elsewhere, Labour halted their campaigning for the duration of the lockdown.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, Labour
On 7 September, Ardern committed to making Matariki a public holiday from 2022 if Labour was re-elected. On 9 September, Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson announced that Labour would reintroduce the top 39% tax bracket for income above $180,000, applying to 2% of people. He said the new rate would generate around $550 million a year in revenue, needed to pay off the debt incurred by the COVID-19 response plan. On 10 September, Ardern announced Labour would aim to make electricity in New Zealand 100% renewable by 2030, five years before the previous target of 2035. This would be done by banning the building of new coal or gas power plants, boosting the solar sector, and speeding up the consent process for renewable energy projects.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, NZ First
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters named the provincial growth fund in its current form as his first bottom line for any post-election coalition talks. Peters also outlined the party's immigration policy ahead of the election, saying: "The current immigration track must stop and only New Zealand First, with a stronger hand in 2020, can make this happen", and "a vote for New Zealand First will see the permanent residency qualification raised from two to five years".


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, NZ First
Peters also said the party wanted to lead a public discussion with voters about a "population policy", including defining acceptable population growth and the time for a migrant to obtain permanent residency. At the campaign launch on 19 July 2020, Peters promised a cap of 15,000  highly skilled immigrants and recruiting 1,000 new police officers. After new cases of community transmission in Auckland were reported on 11 August, with the alert level being raised to level 3 in Auckland and level 2 elsewhere, New Zealand First halted their campaigning.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, Green
On 28 June 2020, the Green Party released a Poverty Action Plan, which included a guaranteed minimum income of $325 a week. Green co-leader Marama Davidson stated that “Our Guaranteed Minimum Income is about fairness. It's about ensuring those who have done well under our current system pay it forward and share that success with people who are struggling." This was followed up by the launch of a Clean Energy Plan, to ensure a "just transition away from fossil fuels".


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, Green
The plan included a pledge to establish a Clean Energy Industry Training Plan and to end coal use in New Zealand by 2030. The Green Party launched a 52-page "Think Ahead, Act Now" election platform on 25 July 2020. Green co-leader James Shaw described it as "a reference document that will guide our caucus and our ministers as we navigate the everyday choices that our Government will have to make."


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, Green
After new cases of community transmission in Auckland were reported on 11 August, with the alert level being raised to level 3 in Auckland and level 2 elsewhere, the Green Party halted their campaigning for the duration of the lockdown. On 15 September, Shaw announced that the Green Party would propose a bill that makes it mandatory for large companies to make annual disclosures about the impact of climate change on their businesses and declare strategies for mitigating these impacts.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, Green
The Green Party campaigned for the electorate vote in the electorates of Auckland Central and Tāmaki Makaurau.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, ACT
ACT launched their party campaign on 12 July 2020. ACT party leader David Seymour criticised the government's COVID-19 response as "clearly, demonstrably unsustainable", and called for the open pursuing of "having the world's smartest border, not as a rhetorical device, but a practical reality." The party also unveiled a new employment insurance scheme, with 0.55% of income tax being paid to a ring-fenced insurance fund. If someone became unemployed, they would be able to claim 55% of their average weekly earnings over the year up to $60,000. After new cases of community transmission in Auckland were reported on 11 August, with the alert level being raised to level 3 in Auckland and level 2 elsewhere, ACT cancelled its upcoming campaign events.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, Māori
The Māori Party launched their campaign on 20 June 2020 at the Hoani Waititi marae, with a flagship "Whānau First" policy, ensuring that a quarter of government spending over the next two years is spent on projects led by Māori and involving Māori-led businesses. Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer was quoted as saying that "Māori must be guaranteed resources for Māori recovery, we cannot go backwards to how we were living pre-COVID – that is not an option for our whānau, too many of whom are struggling just to survive".


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, Māori
Crushed in the last election due to voters in Māori electorates greatly choosing Labour over the Māori Party, co-leader John Tamihere made it clear they would not re-enter a coalition government with National like they did in previous terms of Parliament. On 19 July 2020, the party released a climate change policy, involving an end to new offshore oil and gas permits, as well as withdrawing existing onshore and offshore permits with the goal of ending the oil and gas industry by 2030.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, Māori
The party would also ban new seabed mining permits and withdraw existing permits, as well as establish a $1 billion Pūngao Auaha for "Māori-owned community energy projects and solar panel and insulation instillations". On 14 September, the party announced their major policies, including changing the official name of the country to Aotearoa by 2026, restoring the original Māori names of all towns and cities, requiring primary schools to incorporate Māori language into 25% and later 50% of the curriculum, and requiring all state-funded broadcasters to have a basic fluency level of Māori.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, New Conservative
The New Conservatives ruled out an alliance with both the Labour-led coalition and Billy Te Kahika Jr's New Zealand Public Party. The party received a broadcasting allocation of $62,186 for the 2020 election. The party made headlines during the campaign following repeated vandalism of their advertising in multiple cities, for posting a meme comparing a New Conservative candidate to Nelson Mandela and Abraham Lincoln, and when a candidate repeatedly and falsely claimed to be an ambassador for the Cancer Society charity.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, New Conservative
On 6 October 2020, party leader Leighton Baker mounted a legal challenge at the Auckland High Court to protest the party's exclusion from public broadcaster TVNZ's Minor Party debate scheduled for 8 October. To qualify for inclusion in the debate, parties not represented in Parliament must score at least 3 percent in the 1 News Colmar-Brunton Poll held during the last six months. The hearing was held on 7 October. The High Court dismissed the New Conservatives' bid, ruling in favor of TVNZ.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, New Conservative
On 10 October 2020, it was reported that the New Conservatives' Instagram page had been hacked the previous day with pro-LGBT messages posted on their message feed. In addition, screenshots of the party's logo were shown in rainbow colours. The hack was condemned by party leader Baker and deputy party leader Ikilei, who accused their opponents of intolerance. According to NZME journalist Ethan Griffiths, the hacker had temporarily gained access to the New Conservative Instagram account by posing as Deputy Leader Ikilei on Instagram.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, Advance NZ
Advance NZ launched their campaign on 26 July 2020, merging with the New Zealand Public Party, a party described as "conspiracy theory-driven". The Public Party is to keep their identity and structure, but with the exception of Billy Te Kahika in Te Tai Tokerau, who is running on the Public Party name, all candidates will run as Advance NZ candidates. Jami-Lee Ross, MP for Botany and Te Kahika are to become co-leaders of Advance NZ.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Party campaigns, Advance NZ
Ross stated in regards to the merger that "By forming an alliance of parties, together with other small parties that believe in greater freedom and democracy, we stand a stronger chance of uniting together and crossing the 5 percent threshold in to Parliament," and branded Advance NZ "the new Alliance Party of the 2020s, but a centrist version of that model". At the launch, Te Kahika promised an immediate repeal of the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020. Ross also reportedly told the NZ Herald that the party was in talks with six smaller parties about joining Advance NZ. On 6 August 2020, the party was registered with the Electoral Commission.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Debates
Television New Zealand (TVNZ) hosted three television leaders' debates: two between the National and Labour leaders, and one multi-party debate. The first National–Labour debate was moderated by John Campbell, with the multi party debate and second National–Labour debate hosted by Jessica Mutch McKay. A young voters debate was hosted by Jack Tame. Newshub Nation hosted a "power brokers" debate, which included the Māori Party, with the inclusion threshold being having held a seat in Parliament over the past 2 parliamentary terms. This was confirmed on 27 August 2020, when Newshub announced a leaders' debate on 30 September between National and Labour, and a "powerbrokers" debate which included the Greens, ACT and the Māori Party.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Debates, TVNZ qualification criteria
The inclusion criteria set by TVNZ for its multi-party debate was either having current representation in Parliament or winning 3% in a poll, which sparked controversy as those criteria excluded minor parties such as the Māori Party, The Opportunities Party and the New Conservative Party from the debate. Māori Party co-leader John Tamihere said TVNZ had a responsibility to "reflect Māori perspectives, as laid out in ministerial direction". Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon endorsed the Māori Party position.


2020 New Zealand general election, Campaigning, Debates, TVNZ qualification criteria
The requirements were modified on 8 September 2020, when TVNZ broadened their criteria to use previous parliamentary representation as a marker, including the Māori Party. The parliamentary criterion was expanded to include "leaders of registered parties where the leader has been an MP, or party has been represented, in either/both of the past two parliaments."


2020 New Zealand general election, Opinion polls
Various organisations commissioned opinion polling for the general election. Two main polling organisations regularly sampled the electorates' opinions: Reid Research (on behalf of MediaWorks New Zealand) and Colmar Brunton (on behalf of Television New Zealand). Roy Morgan Research released a series of polls in June 2020, covering the first five months of the year, and subsequently released monthly polls. These were their first opinion polls in New Zealand since November 2017.


2020 New Zealand general election, Opinion polls, Seat projections
The use of mixed-member proportional representation allows ready conversion of a party's support into a party vote percentage and therefore a number of seats in Parliament. Projections assume the new electorate of Takanini will be won by either Labour or National and that Botany will be returned to National, but otherwise assume no material change to the electorate seats held by each party. Parties that do not hold an electorate seat and poll below 5% are assumed to win zero seats.


2020 New Zealand general election, Opinion polls, Seat projections
When determining the scenarios for the overall result, the minimum parties necessary to form majority governments are listed (provided parties have indicated openness to working together). Actual governments formed may include other parties beyond the minimum required for a majority; this happened after the 2014 election, when National only needed one seat from another party to reach a 61-seat majority, but instead chose to form a 64-seat government with Māori, ACT and United Future.


2020 New Zealand general election, Voting
EasyVote packs were sent to voters starting on 28 September 2020. These packs contain the voter's personalised EasyVote card, which is used by polling booth staff to help identify and locate the voter on the electoral roll. It also included flyers on the voting process and two referendums. On 5 October 2020, The Spinoff reported that four EasyVote packs in Northland allegedly contained a flyer from Votesafe, a third-party promoter opposing the End of Life Choice Act. Votesafe confirmed its flyers were printed at the same facility as the Electoral Commission's flyers, and both Votesafe and the Electoral Commission were investigating.


2020 New Zealand general election, Voting
Advance voting began on 3 October at 450 polling locations, increasing to 2,600 locations on election day, 17 October. The Electoral Commission estimated that 60% of votes would occur during the advance voting period, up from 47% in 2017. On 12 October, the number of advance votes cast passed the 1,240,740 advance votes cast overall at the 2017 election. Overall, 1,976,996 advance votes were cast, 66.7% of all votes cast. The polling booth at North City Shopping Centre in Porirua was the busiest advance polling booth with 13,371 votes cast, while the polling booth at the Selwyn District Council headquarters in Rolleston was the busiest election-day polling booth with 1,601 votes cast.


2020 New Zealand general election, Voting
Voters on the Māori roll faced issues with receiving Māori electorate ballots due to high demand during advance voting, leading to some people having to cast special votes instead.


2020 New Zealand general election, Voting
On 5 October, an error was discovered on Port Waikato electorate ballot papers, where there was no circle to tick next to Vision NZ on the party vote ballot. The Electoral Commission subsequently reprinted the ballot papers. Provided the voter's intention is clear, a tick or other mark placed outside the circle will still be counted as a valid vote.


2020 New Zealand general election, Voting
The Electoral Commission referred two people to Police after they claimed to have voted multiple times, one on 5 October and another on 14 October.


2020 New Zealand general election, Results
Preliminary results were gradually released after polling booths close at 19:00 (NZDT) on 17 October. The preliminary count only includes advance ordinary and election day ordinary votes; it does not include any special votes, which have a deadline ten days later (27 October). Special votes include votes from those who enrolled after the deadline of 13 September, those who voted outside their electorate (including all overseas votes), voters in hospital or prison, and those voters enrolled on the unpublished roll. Official results, including all recounted ordinary votes and special votes, were released by the Electoral Commission on 6 November 2020.


2020 New Zealand general election, Results
On the official results, the Labour Party won 65 seats, a majority of four–the party's biggest victory in 50 years. The Labour Party's 50.0% vote share in this election is the third highest throughout its 104-year history, only surpassed by its election victories in 1938 (55.8%) and 1946 (51.3%). It is the first time under the current mixed-member proportional representation (MMP) electoral system that a party has won an outright majority (65 seats) of parliamentary seats to govern alone.


2020 New Zealand general election, Results
The National Party obtained 25.6% of the popular vote and 33 seats in Parliament, which represented its worst result since 2002 (where it obtained 21% of the popular vote), its second worst historical result and one of the worst ever election defeats in its party's history since the party's founding in 1936. National's leader Collins conceded the election just after 10pm on election night, but said in her concession speech that "[National] will be back".


2020 New Zealand general election, Results
The results of the "COVID-19 election" led to the flipping of many traditionally "blue" National-voting provincial seats, with often more than comfortable margins. Examples were Wairarapa, East Coast, Ōtaki, and Rangitata, the latter having never previously voted for Labour. In another devastating blow to National's heartlands, every city except Auckland (including the Hibiscus Coast), Tauranga, Rotorua and Invercargill gave their seats entirely to Labour.


2020 New Zealand general election, Results
Victims of National seat losses were National deputy leader Gerry Brownlee, who had held Ilam for its entire existence; Chris Bishop, considered a rising star, who unexpectedly flipped Hutt South for National in 2017; and Father of the House Nick Smith, member for Nelson since 1990. Three electorates flipped to Labour following the inclusion of special votes: Northland, Whangārei and Maungakiekie. Labour also flipped Hamilton West, the country's bellwether; in 15 of the 17 general elections since the electorate's formation in 1969, the candidate winning the electorate vote in Hamilton West has been from the party that would form the government, the two exceptions being 1993 and 2017.


2020 New Zealand general election, Results
In a surprise victory, list MP Chlöe Swarbrick won the Auckland Central electoral seat vacated by National's retiring Nikki Kaye, with a margin of 1,068 votes over Labour's Helen White, thus winning for the Green Party an electorate seat for the first time since 1999. Swarbrick's victory was notable as she garned 3,923 more votes within the same electorate than her own Green Party, a prime example of voters being engaged in split-ticket voting; however, it was highly unusual as numerous voters who supported a major party also voted for an electorate MP from a minor party.


2020 New Zealand general election, Results
The Māori Party also returned to Parliament due to the election of Rawiri Waititi in the seat of Waiariki, a seat which the party had lost three years prior. This makes Tamati Coffey the only Labour electorate MP to lose their electorate, however due to his list placing, Coffey returned to parliament through the list.


2020 New Zealand general election, Results
The 2020 general election saw the election of New Zealand's first African MP (Ibrahim Omer), first Sri Lankan-born MP (Vanushi Walters) and first Latin American MP (Ricardo Menéndez March). Six new LGBT+ MPs were elected (Menéndez March, Glen Bennett, Ayesha Verrall, Shanan Halbert, Elizabeth Kerekere, Tangi Utikere), making the New Zealand House of Representatives the national parliament with the highest percentage of LGBT+ members in the world.


2020 New Zealand general election, Results
Parties and candidates have three working days after the release of the official results to apply for a judicial recount. These recounts take place under the auspices of a District Court judge (the Chief District Court Judge in case of a nationwide recount). National MP Matt King announced he would seek a recount in the Northland electorate, after he lost the electorate to Labour's Willow-Jean Prime by 163 votes, but later changed his mind and conceded.


2020 New Zealand general election, Results, Electorate results
The table below shows the results of the 2020 general election:


2020 New Zealand general election, Results, Electorate results
In above table, majority denotes the winning candidate's lead over the second place candidate.


2020 New Zealand general election, Results, List results
Andrew Little (07)David Parker (09)Trevor Mallard (11)Kris Faafoi (15)Ayesha Verrall (17)Willie Jackson (19)Louisa Wall (27)Camilla Belich (30)Jan Tinetti (32) Marja Lubeck (34) Angie Warren-Clark (35) Tāmati Coffey (37) Naisi Chen (38) Liz Craig (41) Ibrahim Omer (42) Anahila Kanongata'a-Suisuiki (44) Rachel Brooking (46) Helen White (48) Angela Roberts (50)


2020 New Zealand general election, Results, List results
Gerry Brownlee (02)Paul Goldsmith (03)Shane Reti (05)Chris Bishop (07)David Bennett (11)Michael Woodhouse (12)Nicola Willis (13)Melissa Lee (16)Nick Smith (18)Maureen Pugh (19)


2020 New Zealand general election, Results, List results
Marama Davidson (01)James Shaw (02)Julie Anne Genter (04)Jan Logie (05)Eugenie Sage (06)Golriz Ghahraman (07)Teanau Tuiono (08)Elizabeth Kerekere (09)Ricardo Menéndez March (10)


2020 New Zealand general election, Results, List results
Brooke van Velden (02)Nicole McKee (03)Chris Baillie (04)Simon Court (05)James McDowall (06)Karen Chhour (07)Mark Cameron (08)Toni Severin (09)Damien Smith (10)


2020 New Zealand general election, Results, Government formation
On 31 October, Ardern announced that despite the Labour Party having won enough seats to continue the Sixth Labour Government on their own, they had invited the Greens to participate in a "cooperation agreement", seeking their input on matters such as the environment, climate change and child wellbeing, and that the Greens had accepted the offer. Under the deal (which is not a coalition agreement), the two co-leaders of the Greens will receive ministerial portfolios outside the cabinet. James Shaw will continue in his previous role as climate change minister, as well as associate environment minister (biodiversity). Marama Davidson will be appointed to the new position of minister for the prevention of family and sexual violence, and will also take on the role of associate minister of housing (homelessness). The Green Party also agreed to abstain on motions of Confidence and Supply during the term.


2020 New Zealand general election, Post-election events, Leadership changes
Following the election, Gerry Brownlee stepped down as deputy leader of the National Party. On 10 November 2020, Shane Reti was elected unopposed as his replacement. Leader Judith Collins was also unopposed to retain her position.


2020 New Zealand general election, Post-election events, Leadership changes
On 3 November, Geoff Simmons stepped down as leader of The Opportunities Party. Shai Navot, former deputy leader, took over from Simmons.


2020 New Zealand general election, Post-election events, Leadership changes
On 19 November, the board of the New Conservative Party removed the party's leader, Leighton Baker, and replaced him with his deputy, Elliot Ikilei. The party's third-ranked list candidate at the election, Victoria O'Brien, became deputy leader. O'Brien however resigned after less than a week in the role, on 25 November, amid apparent division in the party over Baker's removal and his subsequent role within its organisation. Ikilei announced his resignation on New Year's Eve and the party has been leaderless since.


2020 New Zealand general election, Post-election events, Local by-elections
A number of local by-elections are required due to the resignation of an incumbent local body politician following their election to Parliament:


2020 New Zealand general election, Post-election events, Calls for vote recount
On 11 November, the Māori Party co-leader John Tamihere requested a vote recount in the Māori electorates of Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Tai Hauāuru, alleging there had been voter discrimination against Māori during the 2020 election. Tamihere claimed that the recount was intended to expose discriminatory laws such as the five-yearly Māori Electoral Option (which limited the ability of Māori to switch between the general and Māori rolls for a period five years), longer wait times for Māori voters at election booths, and some Māori not being allowed to vote on the Māori roll. The altered official results for the two electorates following the recounts were released on 20 November. Tamihere's margin of defeat in Tāmaki Makaurau decreased from 956 to 927, while Debbie Ngarewa-Packer's margin of defeat in Te Tai Hauāuru increased from 1,035 to 1,053.


2020 New Zealand general election, Post-election events, Election donations
On 12 April 2021, the Electoral Commission referred the Māori Party to the Police for failing to disclose about NZ$320,000 worth of donations within the required timeframe. These donations came from former party co-leader John Tamihere (NZ$158,223.72), the Urban Māori Authority (NZ$48,879.85), and the Aotearoa Te Kahu Limited Partnership (NZ$120,000). Party President Che Wilson attributed the late disclosure to the fact that the party was staffed by volunteers and rookies who were unfamiliar with electoral finance laws. In late April, the Police referred the investigation into the Māori Parry's undeclared donations to the Serious Fraud Office.


2020 New Zealand general election, Post-election events, Election donations
In late April 2021, the Electoral Commission issued the National Party with a warning for failing to declare a NZ$35,000 donation from real estate mogul Garth Barfoot but declined to refer the matter to the Police.


2020 New Zealand general election, Post-election events, Election donations
Several Advance New Zealand candidates also faced fines for not filing campaign donations and expense returns. In late May 2021, Rangitīkei candidate Ricky Cribb pleaded guilty to two charges of violating the Electoral Act 1993 and was fined $300 plus court costs. Mana candidate Edward James Ngatai Ponder pleaded guilty to violating the Electoral Act 1993 in mid June 2021 for failing to file an election expenses return to show that would have shown he had no expenses. In early July, Advance NZ Invercargill candidate Kurt Rohloff had his Electoral Act charge for failing to declare election and donation returns dismissed after completing a diversion.


2020 New Zealand general election, Post-election events, Election donations
Early July also saw another Invercargill candidate, independent Basil Walker, be charged with failing to file his return on time. Walker was offered a discharge without conviction if he completed 40 hours of community service, but he failed to do so, which he attributed to his workload. In September he agreed to plead guilty to the charge, received a conviction, and was fined $500.


2020 New Zealand general election, Post-election events, Election donations
In September 2021, former Public Party leader and Advance NZ co-leader Billy Te Kahika was charged with filing a false electoral donation and obtaining $15,000 by deception. Name suppression lapsed and he was identified in October 2021. Te Kahika has contested the charges and opted for a jury trial.


2020 New Zealand rugby league season
The 2020 New Zealand rugby league season will be the 113th season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand. The main feature of the year will be the National Competition, run by the New Zealand Rugby League. The New Zealand Warriors also are competing in the 2020 NRL season.


2020 New Zealand rugby league season, Men's national competitions
2020 will be the 11th year of the national competition, which will have a four team premiership, a four team North Island championship and a four team South Island championship.


2020 Newcastle Knights season
The 2020 Newcastle Knights season was the 33rd in the club's history. Coached by Adam O'Brien and captained by Mitchell Pearce, they competed in the NRL's 2020 Telstra Premiership. On 23 March, the NRL announced that the season would be suspended after round 2, until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NRL returned on 28 May with a new draw, the Knights' round 3 game coming on 31 May against the Penrith Panthers. The Knights finished the regular season in 7th place (out of 16), thus reaching the finals but were knocked out after losing to the South Sydney Rabbitohs in week 1.


2020 Newcastle Knights season, Jerseys and sponsors
In 2020, the Knights' jerseys were made by O'Neills and their major sponsor was nib Health Funds.


2020 Newcastle Knights season, Fixtures, NRL Nines
Squad: 1. Kurt Gidley 2. Jirah Momoisea 3. Hymel Hunt 4. Brodie Jones 5. Gehamat Shibasaki 6. Aidan Guerra (c) 7. Starford To'a 8. Jacob Saifiti 9. Pasami Saulo 10. Kurt Mann (c) 11. Tyronne Roberts-Davis 12. Mason Lino 13. Sione Mata'utia 14. Mitchell Barnett 15. Bayden Searle 16. Tex Hoy 17. Simi Sasagi 18. Matt Soper-Lawler


2020 Newcastle Knights season, Representative honours
The following players appeared in a representative match or were named in a representative squad in 2020.


2020 Newfoundland and Labrador Scotties Tournament of Hearts
The 2020 Newfoundland and Labrador Women's Curling Championship, the women's provincial curling championship for Newfoundland and Labrador, was held from January 11 to 15 at the Re/Max Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The winning Erica Curtis rink represented Newfoundland and Labrador at the 2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and finished with a 1–6 record.


2020 Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard
The 2020 Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard, the men's provincial curling championship for Newfoundland and Labrador, was held from January 28 to February 2 at the RE/MAX Centre in St. John's. The winning Brad Gushue rink will represent Newfoundland and Labrador at the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship in Kingston, Ontario.


2020 Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard
Brad Gushue won his fifteenth Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard with a 3–1 victory over Trent Skanes in the final.


2020 Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard, Teams
Two-time Brier champion Brad Gushue returned after missing the previous two Tankards as his team automatically qualified for the Brier as "Team Canada" as defending champions.


2020 Next Generation ATP Finals
The 2020 Next Generation ATP Finals would have been a men's exhibition tennis tournament that was scheduled to be held in Milan, Italy, from 10 to 14 November 2020. It would have been the 4th edition of the event. However, the tournament was cancelled by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on 14 August 2020.


2020 Next Generation ATP Finals, Qualification
The top seven players in the ATP Race to Milan would have qualified, with the eighth spot reserved for an Italian wild card, as in the past three editions. Eligible players had to be 21 or under at the start of the year (born in 1999 or later for the 2020 edition).


2020 Next Generation ATP Finals, Qualification
On 16 March 2020, the ATP rankings were frozen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the pandemic, the ATP changed its ranking system for 2020. The ATP Rankings would have been used to determine qualification.


2020 Next Generation ATP Finals, Qualification
Players in gold would have qualified for the Next Gen ATP Finals.


2020 NextEra Energy 250
The 2020 NextEra Energy 250 was a NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race held on February 14, 2020. Contested over 106 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) asphalt superspeedway. It was the first race of the 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season. This race is known for being the closest Daytona finish in the truck series, as Grant Enfinger beat Jordan Anderson by 0.010 of a second.


2020 NextEra Energy 250, Practice, Final practice
Johnny Sauter was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 46.565 seconds and a speed of 193.278 mph (311.051 km/h).


2020 NextEra Energy 250, Qualifying
Riley Herbst scored the pole for the race with a time of 49.544 seconds and a speed of 181.657 mph (292.349 km/h).


2020 Nice stabbing
On the morning of 29 October 2020, three people were killed in a stabbing attack at Notre-Dame de Nice, a Roman Catholic basilica in Nice, France. The alleged attacker,  Tunisian man Brahim Aouissaoui, was shot by the police and taken into custody. Both French President Emmanuel Macron and the Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, said it was a terrorist attack attributed to Islamic extremism.


2020 Nice stabbing, Background
In recent years, France has seen many jihadist terrorist attacks, carried out by both Islamic State and Al-Qaeda terrorist cells, and by lone-wolf terrorists. Nice was the scene of a truck attack in 2016, which resulted in the deaths of 86 people.


2020 Nice stabbing, Background
Four weeks prior to this attack, French President Emmanuel Macron described Islam as a religion "in crisis" worldwide, prompting backlash from Muslims. He vowed to present a bill to strengthen a 1905 law that officially separated church and state in France. Two weeks later, Samuel Paty, a history teacher, was accused by an unnamed student of showing his classes offensive Charlie Hebdo cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The student who provided the original account of Paty's lesson later admitted to lying about being present, and exaggerating others' accounts in order to blame Paty for a recent suspension.


2020 Nice stabbing, Background
Despite this, her account incited anger among the Islamic community in France and eventually led to the beheading of Paty in the Île-de-France by an 18-year-old Chechen Muslim who had acquired refugee status in France in March 2020. After Paty's murder, Macron defended the publication of cartoons depicting Muhammad on free speech grounds. Following these events, and Macron's defence of the cartoons in particular, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called for a boycott of French products. Several protests across the Muslim world followed, in which photographs of Macron were burned, accompanied by anti-French chants.


2020 Nice stabbing, Attack
The attack occurred on 29 October 2020 at 8:30 a.m., in the premises of Notre-Dame de Nice, a Roman Catholic basilica situated on the Avenue Jean Médecin in the centre of Nice. The attacker killed three people with a knife. One victim, an elderly woman, was partially beheaded. Another was the sexton of the church, and the third victim was another woman.


2020 Nice stabbing, Attack
The attack was carried out over a span of 28 minutes, during which he shouted "Allahu Akbar," repeatedly. Four responding police officers first tasered the attacker and then shot him, even as he continued to shout, "Allahu Akbar!" The suspect was then taken to hospital, where he was in life-threatening condition. A total of 14 shots were fired by police. Authorities found items that they said belonged to the suspect, including a Quran, three knives, and two cell phones.


2020 Nice stabbing, Attack, Immediate aftermath
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said immediately after that a police operation was underway in the city. A bomb disposal unit responded to the crime scene, while heavily armed anti-terror police officers patrolled the streets around the basilica.


2020 Nice stabbing, Attack, Immediate aftermath
In the days after the attack, police arrested two men who were believed to have been in contact with the attacker immediately prior to the incident.


2020 Nice stabbing, Suspect
The alleged attacker is a 21-year-old Tunisian man, Brahim Aouissaoui (Arabic: إبراهيم العيساوي). He grew up close to Sfax, Tunisia. He had arrived as a migrant in late September 2020 at the island of Lampedusa, Italy, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia. He was required to spend 20 days in coronavirus quarantine, and he spent most of that time on his phone. According to Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera, Aouissaoui received a notice informing him that he was being expelled from Italy for illegal entry and had until 9 October to leave voluntarily, but his movement was not monitored.


2020 Nice stabbing, Suspect
Instead of leaving Italy, on that day, he relocated to the port city of Bari, in southern Italy. There was no indication if there was any other action taken to ensure his cooperation. After his arrival in Bari, Aouissaoui traveled to Nice by train in the following days. His entry into France was facilitated by the identity card given to him by the Red Cross refugee NGO. In total he spent about 24h in France before the attack. In the morning of the day of the attack, he went to a mosque near Nice train station and prayed. After the prayer he went to the train station and spent some time there before making his way to Notre Dame de Nice, as detailed by Jean-François Ricard, chief of the antiterror prosecution unit Parquet national antiterroriste (PNAT).


2020 Nice stabbing, Suspect
In an interview with Al Arabiya after the attack, Aouissaoui's mother said she had been surprised when her son called to inform her he was in France, since he did not know the language or anyone there. His older brother told BBC News that Aouissaoui claimed he knew someone in France and that he would seek out this person for help. A neighbour told Al Arabiya that Aouissaoui worked as a mechanic and in other odd jobs while in Tunisia, but did not show any signs of radicalisation.


2020 Nice stabbing, Suspect
French chief anti-terrorism prosecutor Jean-François Ricard said that the suspect had not been on any intelligence agency's radar as a potential terrorist threat.


2020 Nice stabbing, Victims
Three people were killed in the attack. One was a 60-year-old woman who had been in the basilica praying; she was found with her throat cut very deeply, in what an official said appeared to be an attempt to decapitate her. Another was the 55-year-old male sexton, who died of a large throat wound. The third person killed was a 44-year-old Brazilian-born Frenchwoman who escaped from the church with several stab wounds, but collapsed and died at a nearby café.


2020 Nice stabbing, Reactions, French reactions
A moment of silence was held at the National Assembly after news of the stabbing arrived. President Emmanuel Macron visited the site of the attack later in the morning and called the incident an "Islamist terrorist attack". Macron called for firmness and unity and expressed his solidarity with the Catholic community of France. He also said that he would protect schools and places of worship by doubling the presence of security forces. French Interior Minister Gerald Damarnin said that France was engaged in a war against Islamist ideology, and that more attacks on French soil were likely, adding: "We are in a war against an enemy that is both inside and outside."


2020 Nice stabbing, Reactions, French reactions
A representative of the French Council of the Muslim Faith condemned the attack, saying, "As a sign of mourning and solidarity with the victims and their loved ones, I call on all Muslims in France to cancel all the celebrations of the holiday of Mawlid."


2020 Nice stabbing, Reactions, Foreign reactions
Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese rejected calls to resign amidst accusations from the country's right-wing opposition parties that her department was responsible for Aouissaoui not being deported to Tunisia. European Parliament President David Sassoli, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte all released statements expressing their condolences to the French people. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced the attack by saying "We condemn absolutely these heinous, unacceptable terrorist attacks. There is absolutely nothing that justifies this violence."


2020 Nice stabbing, Reactions, Foreign reactions
He furthermore said, "At the same time, we owe it to ourselves to recognize that these criminals, these terrorists, these murderers, do not represent in any way Islam or Muslim people." Trudeau did, however, temper his remarks with this qualification: "But freedom of expression is not without limits. We owe it to ourselves to act with respect for others and to seek not to arbitrarily or needlessly injure those with whom we are sharing a society and a planet."


2020 Nice stabbing, Reactions, Foreign reactions
In a week where the Turkish-French relations were under tension, Turkey released a statement expressing their condolences to the French people, saying that "no reason could legitimise or excuse killing someone or violence. Those who conducted this savage attack at a sacred place of worship do not clearly share any religious, humane or moral values." The Kremlin condemned the killings, adding that it was also wrong to hurt the religious sentiments of people. Uruguay released a statement expressing its deepest concern over the attack and the desire to convey condolences and solidarity to the families of the victims, to the people and Government of France. The attack was also condemned by Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Pakistan.


2020 Nice stabbing, Reactions, Foreign reactions
Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (al-Nur) leader Abdul Wahid al Nur offered condolences to the French people and condemned the attacker, saying, "As victims of an ongoing Darfur genocide, rationalized on the basis of racism and reactionary precepts of Islamist extremism, we shudder at the attacker."


2020 Nice stabbing, Reactions, Foreign reactions
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, denounced the attack but said, "You have protected the takfiri groups and sent them to commit crimes in Syria [...] You are paying the price of supporting the terrorist groups. [ ...] While we were fighting the terrorist in Syria, you were providing them with all the forms of support... The French authorities involved their country in an open war on Islam instead of addressing the original cause of the crisis represented by insults against Prophet Muhammad ...."


2020 Nice stabbing, Reactions, Church reactions
The World Council of Churches expressed solidarity with the French nation and its churches following the Nice stabbing. Pope Francis offered prayers and expressed grief after the attack.


2020 Nicholls Colonels football team
The 2020 Nicholls Colonels football team represents Nicholls State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Southland Conference. The Colonels are led by sixth-year head coach Tim Rebowe and play their home games at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium.


2020 Nicholls Colonels football team
Shortly before the season, the Southland Conference canceled their fall sports, with the hope that all sports would playable in Spring 2021. This decision was later reversed, and the Colonels started their spring season on February 19.


2020 Nicholls Colonels football team, Previous season
The Colonels finished the 2019 season 9–5, 7–2 in Southland play to finish tied for first in the Southland Conference, along with Central Arkansas. The Colonels received an automatic bid to the postseason tournament following their conference championship. The Colonels defeated North Dakota in the First Round 24-6 before ultimately losing to North Dakota State in the Second Round by the score of 37–13.


2020 Nicholls Colonels football team, Preseason, Preseason poll
The Southland Conference released their spring preseason poll in January 2021. The Colonels were picked to finish first in the conference. In addition, eight Colonels were chosen to the Preseason All-Southland Team


2020 Nickelodeon Meus Prêmios Nick
The 2020 Meus Prêmios Nick Awards were held on September 27, 2020, in São Paulo, Brazil. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the event did not have an audience and was broadcast live on television and on Nickelodeon's social media networks simultaneously.


2020 Nickelodeon Meus Prêmios Nick, Winners and nominees
Nominees were revealed on July 22, 2020. Singer and actress Manu Gavassi is the most-nominated with six nominations to her name. Maísa Silva is the second most-nominated with 5, and Larissa Manoela and Any Gabrielly each have 4. On August 13, the finalists were announced, in addition to having opened the voting for the 2nd phase with 3 new categories and Manu Gavassi is still the most nominated with now 5 categories.


2020 Nicky Rackard Cup
The 2020 Nicky Rackard Cup is the 16th staging of the Nicky Rackard Cup hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2005. It is the fourth tier hurling as of 2020.


2020 Nicky Rackard Cup
Warwickshire were supposed to compete in the Rackard Cup  but did not due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games. The championship was scheduled to begin in May 2020 but was delayed until 24 October 2020.


2020 Nicky Rackard Cup
Donegal were the winners, defeating Mayo in the final after earlier wins over Longford, Armagh and Tyrone.


2020 Nicky Rackard Cup, Round 2, Round 2A
The Round 1 winners are joined by Tyrone, who received a bye.


2020 Nicky Rackard Cup, Round 2, Round 2B
The Round 1 losers are joined by Tyrone, who lost their Round 2A game.


2020 Nicky Rackard Cup Final
The 2020 Nicky Rackard Cup Final was played at Croke Park in Dublin on 22 November 2020. It was contested by Donegal and Mayo.


2020 Nicky Rackard Cup Final
Donegal won the competition for a third time, beceoming the first team to achieve this.


2020 Nicky Rackard Cup Final
Mickey McCann was manager. Sean McVeigh was captain. However, the 2020 win did not secure passage back to the 2021 Christy Ring Cup for Donegal, a condition that was not made clear until shortly before the final.


2020 Nigeria hostage rescue
During the early hours of October 31, 2020, United States Navy SEALs from the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), parachuted from Air Force Special Operations aircraft of the 352d Special Operations Wing, and conducted an operation in Northern Nigeria, resulting in the rescue of an American hostage and the killing of six of the seven captors. The hostage, 27-year-old Philip Walton, had been kidnapped in front of his family at his home in the village of Massalata in neighboring Niger on 26 October by armed gunmen, who intended to sell him to armed terrorist groups in the area.


2020 Nigeria hostage rescue, Background
In 2020, Niger experienced a multitude of attacks by extremists linked to both Islamic State (IS) groups and Al-Qaeda. About two months prior to the kidnapping of Walton, IS-linked militants killed six French aid workers and their Niger guide while they were visiting a wildlife park near the capital Niamey. Additionally American aid worker Jeffery Woodke was kidnapped from Abalak in October 2016, and is believed to be held in Mali.


2020 Nigeria hostage rescue, Background
Philip Walton is an American citizen and the son of missionaries, who has lived in Massalata with his wife and child for two years. His father lives in Birni-N'konni, and has lived in Niger for about 30 years.


2020 Nigeria hostage rescue, Kidnapping and rescue
Walton was kidnapped by six men armed with Kalashnikovs, from his farm in Massalata in southern Niger in the early morning of 27 October 2020. The kidnappers initially demanded money from Walton, but abducted him after he was only able to offer US$40. The kidnappers then demanded a US$1 million ransom from Walton's father via a phone call.


2020 Nigeria hostage rescue, Kidnapping and rescue
The Nigerien Interior Ministry announced the incident via a statement read on national radio, which claimed that the kidnappers had searched Walton's home before fleeing with him. The country sent additional security reinforcements to the area and began efforts with the United States to secure the release of Walton.


2020 Nigeria hostage rescue, Kidnapping and rescue
On 31 October 2020, operators from the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, known as SEAL Team Six, rescued Philip Walton in a night-time raid, killing six of seven gunmen. The rescue force, consisting of around 30 operators, was inserted into the area via parachute from Air Force Special Operations aircraft. Once on the ground, they moved on foot for about three miles to the site where Walton was held. After a short but intense firefight, Walton was moved to an extraction point, where he and the rescue force were flown out of the area.


2020 Nigeria hostage rescue, Kidnapping and rescue
The rescue operation involved the governments of Niger and Nigeria working together with the United States. According to a former U.S. official speaking on the operation, the CIA provided intelligence on Walton's location and that elements of Marine Special Operations Command helped locate him.


2020 Nigeria hostage rescue, Kidnapping and rescue
Officials from the US Department of Defense and US Department of State have not linked the kidnappers to any terrorist organization.


2020 Nigeria hostage rescue, Kidnapping and rescue, Aircraft involved
The Navy SEALs were flown to and out of the area via CV-22B and MC-130J Commando II special operations aircraft, with one AC-130J Ghostrider gunship to provide air support. The aircraft belonged to the 352d Special Operations Wing, which were supported by five KC-135 Stratotankers of the 100th Air Refueling Wing, both based out of RAF Mildenhall. One Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane also took part in the operation. The aircraft forward-positioned at Naval Station Rota in Southwest Spain before flying out more than 2,000 miles to Nigeria.


2020 Nigeria hostage rescue, Reaction
A statement put out by Pentagon chief spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman stated “U.S. forces conducted a hostage rescue operation during the early hours of 31 October in Northern Nigeria to recover an American citizen held hostage by a group of armed men. This American citizen is safe and is now in the care of the U.S. Department of State. No U.S military personnel were injured during the operation. We appreciate the support of our international partners in conducting this operation."


2020 Nigeria hostage rescue, Reaction
US President Donald Trump hailed the operation and the rescue team on Twitter, where he said that the operation was a "big win for our very elite U.S. Special Forces" and added "[...] we got our young man back." Trump also referenced the rescue at a campaign speech in Pennsylvania stating; "The kidnappers wished they had never done it." and "...we got our young man back."


2020 Nigeria hostage rescue, Reaction
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also reacted on Twitter where he described the operation as "outstanding." White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany spoke on Fox & Friends about the rescue and stated that the president prioritizes the safety of American citizens. In 2021 reporting, The New Yorker claimed that Mike Pompeo was initially hesitant to provide support to the mission.


2020 Nigerian gubernatorial elections
The 2020 Nigerian gubernatorial elections were held on 19 September 2020, in Edo State, and 10 October 2020, in Ondo State. The last regular gubernatorial elections for both states were in 2016. The All Progressives Congress' Rotimi Akeredolu was defending the Governor's office of Ondo while APC-turned-PDP Edo Governor Godwin Obaseki was defending his office. Both won reelection, leading to no net change in terms of overall party control of governorships.


2020 Nigerian gubernatorial elections, Edo
One-term incumbent Godwin Obaseki switched from the APC to the PDP in 2020 and sought re-election under the PDP banner; Obaseki won the PDP nomination while former SSG and 2016 PDP gubernatorial nominee Osagie Ize-Iyamu became his main opponent by winning the APC nomination. Obaseki won re-election, 57–42.


2020 Nigerian gubernatorial elections, Ondo
One-term APC incumbent Rotimi Akeredolu sought re-election and won the APC nomination while former Ondo Attorney-General Eyitayo Jegede won the PDP nomination and Deputy Governor Agboola Ajayi won the ZLP nomination after losing the PDP primary. Akeredolu defeated Jegede and Ajayi, 51–34–12.


2020 Nippon Professional Baseball draft
The 2020 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Draft was held on 26 October 2020 for the 56th time at the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa to assign amateur baseball players to the NPB. It was arranged with the special cooperation of Taisho Pharmaceutical with official naming rights. The draft was officially called "The Professional Baseball Draft Meeting supported by Lipovitan D ". It has been sponsored by Taisho Pharmaceutical for the 8th consecutive year since 2013.


2020 Nippon Professional Baseball draft, Summary
Only the first round picks will be done by bid lottery. From 2019, the Professional Baseball Executive Committee has decided that the Central League and the Pacific League will be given the second round of waiver priority alternately every other year, and in 2020 Pacific League received the waiver priority. And since it was held in the middle of the regular season, the second round of Waiver priority was decided according to the ranking as of October 25, the day before. From the third round the order was reversed continuing in the same fashion until all picks were exhausted.


2020 Nippon Professional Baseball season
The 2020 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 71st season of professional baseball in Japan since Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) was reorganized in 1950. There were 12 NPB teams, split evenly between the Central League and Pacific League.


2020 Nippon Professional Baseball season, Season schedule
The 2020 season was originally scheduled to begin on 20 March, with a break from 21 July to 13 August, for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. On 26 February 2020, the league announced that its remaining spring training games would be held without fans in attendance, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. With health related precautions in place, the media was allowed into some ballparks. Following another league meeting on 9 March, commissioner Atsushi Saito stated that the 2020 season would be postponed until April. Saito also said that the league aimed to retain a full regular season schedule of 143 games. This announcement marked the first time since 2011 that a Nippon Professional Baseball season was delayed.


2020 Nippon Professional Baseball season, Season schedule
On 18 April, the league announced that it would remain delayed indefinitely through the entirety of May, with the 18-game interleague schedule removed to accommodate a 125-game schedule. The delay of the 2020 Olympics meant that the three-week Olympic break would no longer be needed. Therefore, it was removed from the schedule. Before the league began play, the 2020 season was shortened to 120 games, and scheduled to end on 7 November.


2020 Nippon Professional Baseball season, Season schedule
As a result of the condensed schedule, it was also announced that the First Stage of the Pacific League Climax Series would not be played, with the top two teams from the regular season competing in a best-of-5 Final Stage which the regular season winner enters with a one-game advantage. The Central League would do away with its Climax Series entirely, with its regular season winner advancing directly to the 2020 Japan Series.


2020 Nippon Professional Baseball season, Season schedule
With the lifting of states of emergency over major Japanese cities, NPB announced that it would begin its regular season on 19 June behind closed doors. "Warm-up" games began 26 May. All twelve NPB teams played on as scheduled on 19 June. On 10 July NPB began allowing a limited number of fans to attend games, with plans to further ease restrictions in the near future. On 19 September, attendance was expanded to a maximum of 20,000 fans per game, or 50% of stadium capacity.


2020 Niuean general election
General elections were held in Niue on 30 May 2020.


2020 Niuean general election, Electoral system
The 20 members of the Assembly are elected by two methods; 14 are elected from single-member consistencies and six are elected from a single nationwide constituency. Both types of seat use first-past-the-post voting.


2020 Niuean general election, Campaign
A total of 54 candidates contested the elections, of which 26 contested the six common roll seats. Three candidates – Mona Ainuu in Tuapa, Enetama Lipitoa in Namukulu and Talaititama Talaiti in Vaiea – were elected unopposed. One of the candidates was former New Zealand MP and mayor of Wellington Mark Blumsky.


2020 Niuean general election, Results
The Premier Toke Talagi, in office for the previous twelve years, lost his seat, finishing tenth in the six-seat common roll constituency. Five of the elected members were new to the Assembly. After a draw in Mutalau, the result was decided by a coin toss.


2020 Niuean general election, Results
The results of the election reduced the number of women in the Assembly dropped from 5 to 3, with only one women in cabinet, Mona Ainuu.


2020 Niuean general election, Results
In a secret ballot, the Assembly elected Dalton Tagelagi as Premier in a 13-7 vote against O'Love Jacobsen, and Hima Douglas was elected Speaker on the third ballot. The new Cabinet was announced on June 11.


2020 Nobel Peace Prize
The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the World Food Programme by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. The announcement was made on Friday 9 October at 11:00 CEST.


2020 Nobel Peace Prize, Candidates
There were 318 candidates for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize (211 individuals and 107 organizations), which is the fourth largest number in the history of the prize. However, the Norwegian Nobel Committee does not reveal the names of nominators nor of the nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize before 50 years have passed. Full professors in relevant academic fields and national-level politicians in any country may propose candidates, and it does not require an invitation to submit a nomination; sometimes nominators make their proposals public, but the committee does not verify nominations.


2020 Nobel Peace Prize, Candidates
In September 2020 Donald Trump was nominated by Norwegian politician Christian Tybring-Gjedde.


2020 Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel Committee
Tasked with reviewing nominations from September of the previous year through 1 February and ultimately selecting the Prize winners, the Norwegian Parliament-appointed members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee at the time of the 2020 prize were listed as:


2020 NorZone Premier League
The 2020 NorZone Premier League was the 14th season of state-level soccer in the Northern Territory. Six teams contested the season. The season began on 13 March, concluding with the Grand Final on 10 October.


2020 NorZone Premier League, Results
Each team plays home-and-away twice against every other team for a total of 20 matches played each.


2020 Nordic Golf League
The 2020 Nordic Golf League is the 22nd season of the Nordic Golf League (NGL), one of four third-tier tours recognised by the European Tour. The season started with four events in Spain. After a break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the schedule was subject to change and several tournaments were postponed, cancelled or, due to travel restrictions, taken away from the Nordic Golf League Order of Merit Golfbox Road to Europe.


2020 Nordic Golf League
The tour announced on 20 July 2020, that (provided that at least 10 events would be completed, which was done on August 7) the top three players on the final Order of Merit receive a Challenge Tour category for the 2021 season, placed bottom of category 13, 14 and 15 respectively.


2020 Nordic Golf League
Qualifying School First Stage for the 2021 Nordic Golf League season took place over 36 holes in Sweden 30 September – 1 October 2020 at Barsebäck Golf & Country Club, Stockholm Golf Club and Kungsbacka Golf Club simultaneously and in Denmark 6–7 October 2020 at Greve Golf Club. 15 spots divided between the three Swedish venues and 9 spots at the Danish competition were available for a new temporary category, 7A. Due to the fact that the 2020 Nordic Golf League categories has been frozen and will also apply for 2021, no final qualifier was played.


2020 Nordic Golf League, Graduates
The top three players on the Nordic Golf League Ranking earned Challenge Tour cards for 2021.


2020 Nordic Indoor Athletics Match
The 2020 Nordic Indoor Athletics Match (Norwegian: Nordenkampen 2020) was the 10th edition of the annual indoor track and field competition for athletes from the Nordic countries, organised by Nordic Athletics. It was held on 9 February at Liikuntamylly-hallen in Helsinki, Finland.


2020 Nordic Junior World Ski Championships
The FIS Nordic Junior and U23 World Ski Championships 2020 took place in Oberwiesenthal, Germany from 29 February to 8 March 2020. This was the 43rd Junior World Championships and the 15th Under-23 World Championships in nordic skiing.


2020 Nordic Junior World Ski Championships
New competitions this year was mixed relay in the U23's cross-country skiing and mixed team competition in nordic combined. The men's normal hill/5 km event in nordic combined was removed.


2020 Nordic Opening
The 2020 Nordic Opening or the eight Ruka Triple was the 11th edition of the Nordic Opening, an annual cross-country skiing mini-tour event. The three-day event was the first competition round of the 2020–21 FIS Cross-Country World Cup.


2020 Nordic Opening, Overall leadership
The results in the overall standings were calculated by adding each skier's finishing times on each stage. On the sprint stage, the winners earned 30 bonus seconds, no bonus seconds were given on stages two and three. The skier with the lowest cumulative time became the overall winner of the Nordic Opening.


2020 Nordic Opening, Overall leadership
A total of CHF 252,000, both genders included, were awarded in cash prizes in the tournament. The overall winners of the Nordic Opening received CHF 25,000, with the second and third placed skiers getting CHF 18,000 and CHF 12,000 respectively. All finishers in the top 20 were awarded money. CHF 5,000 were given to the winners of each stage of the race, with smaller amounts given to places second and third.


2020 Nordic Opening, World Cup points distribution
The overall winners were awarded 200 points. The winners of each of the three stages were awarded 50 points. The maximum number of points an athlete could earn was therefore 350 points.


2020 North Alabama Lions football team
The 2020 North Alabama Lions football team represented the University of North Alabama during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Chris Willis. The Lions played their home games at Braly Municipal Stadium as second-year members of the Big South Conference.


2020 North Alabama Lions football team, Previous season
The Lions finished the 2019 season with a record of 4–7, 3–4 in Big South play, however due to their transition to NCAA Division I, their official conference record was 0–0.


2020 North Alabama Lions football team, Schedule
North Alabama originally had games scheduled against Monmouth, Hampton and Virginia Tech, but they were canceled due to each school's decision to cancel fall sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 North American and Caribbean Senior Club Championship
The 2020 North American and Caribbean Senior Club Championship  were planned as the second edition of the North American and Caribbean Senior Club Championship which is a qualifying tournament for the 2020 IHF Super Globe. It was supposed to be held in Lake Placid, United States at the United States Olympic Training Center from 16 to 20 June 2020.


2020 North American and Caribbean Senior Club Championship, Venue
The championship would have been played in Lake Placid, at the United States Olympic Training Center (LPOTC).


2020 North Carolina Attorney General election
The 2020 North Carolina election for Attorney General was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the Attorney General of North Carolina, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.


2020 North Carolina Attorney General election
Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein, first elected in 2016, ran for re-election against Republican Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill. With a narrow margin separating Stein and O'Neill, the Associated Press was finally able to call Stein the winner on Nov. 17, 2020 (two weeks after Election Day).


2020 North Carolina Council of State elections
The North Carolina Council of State elections of 2020 were held on November 3, 2020 to select the ten officers of the North Carolina Council of State. These elections coincided with the presidential election, elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the Senate and elections to the North Carolina General Assembly and top state courts. Primary elections were held on March 3, 2020, for offices for which more than one candidate filed per party.


2020 North Carolina Council of State elections
The ten members of the North Carolina Council of State are statewide-elected officers serving four-year terms.


2020 North Carolina Council of State elections
The result of the 2020 elections was a Council of State consisting of 4 Democrats and 6 Republicans, just as it had been before the elections. Three seats (Lieutenant Governor, Superintendent of Public Instruction and Commissioner of Labor) were open, but in each case, a Republican succeeded a fellow Republican.


2020 North Carolina Council of State elections, Governor
Incumbent Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat, ran for a second term. The Republican Party nominated Lt. Governor Dan Forest. The Libertarian Party nominated Steven J. DiFore and the Constitution Party nominated Al Pisano. Cooper won re-election to a second term with 51.5% of the vote. Cooper received the most votes of any Democrat on the ballot in North Carolina in 2020.


2020 North Carolina Council of State elections, Lieutenant Governor
Incumbent Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, a Republican, was ineligible to run for a second term due to term limits set by the North Carolina Constitution. Forest ran for the governorship.


2020 North Carolina Council of State elections, Lieutenant Governor
The Republican Party nominated Mark Robinson, a businessman and first-time political candidate. The Democratic party nominated State Representative Yvonne Lewis Holley. Robinson defeated Holley, winning 51.6% of the vote to Holley's 48.4%. Robinson thus became North Carolina's first African-American lieutenant governor.


2020 North Carolina Council of State elections, Attorney General
Incumbent Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, ran for a second term. He faced Republican nominee Jim O'Neill in the general election. Stein defeated O'Neill by just over 13,000 votes out of over 5.4 million cast.


2020 North Carolina Council of State elections, Secretary of State
Elaine Marshall, a Democrat, was first elected to the position of Secretary of State in 1996 and has held the position since then. She is currently the longest-tenured member of the Council of State. She was unopposed in the primary. The Republican Party nominated businessman E.C. Sykes. Marshall won with 51.2% of the vote, a slightly smaller percentage of the vote than what Marshall received in 2016. She was elected to her seventh term as Secretary of State. No Republican has won election to this office since 1872, the longest streak for any state office in the country.


2020 North Carolina Council of State elections, State Auditor
Incumbent Auditor Beth Wood, a Democrat, ran for a fourth term. She was narrowly re-elected in 2016, winning by just over six thousand votes. Wood was challenged in the Democratic primary by Luis Toledo, a former Assistant State Auditor. Toledo argued that change was needed in the Auditor's office. Beth Wood won the primary by a large margin. Anthony Street, a small business owner and member of the Brunswick County Soil and Water Board, won the Republican primary. Wood won the general election with 50.9% of the vote.


2020 North Carolina Council of State elections, State Treasurer
Incumbent Treasurer Dale Folwell, a Republican, ran for a second term.


2020 North Carolina Council of State elections, Superintendent of Public Instruction
Mark Johnson was elected to the position of State Superintendent in 2016, defeating incumbent June Atkinson by a narrow margin. Johnson opted not to run for a second term as Superintendent, instead declaring his candidacy for Lieutenant Governor. Johnson’s candidacy was unsuccessful, placing third in the Republican primary.


2020 North Carolina Council of State elections, Superintendent of Public Instruction
Jen Mangrum, an associate professor at UNC Greensboro, received the most votes out of the five candidates in the Democratic primary. Catherine Truitt, chancellor of Western Governors University North Carolina and a former education advisor to Governor Pat McCrory, ran for the Republican nomination. She defeated State Representative D. Craig Horn in the primary. This was the only Council of State election in which both candidates were women.


2020 North Carolina Council of State elections, Superintendent of Public Instruction
On Election Day, Truitt defeated Magnum by 2.76 percentage points. She won a slightly higher percentage of the vote than Mark Johnson did in 2016.


2020 North Carolina Council of State elections, Commissioner of Agriculture
Incumbent Commissioner Steve Troxler, a Republican, ran for a fifth term.


2020 North Carolina Council of State elections, Commissioner of Labor
Cherie Berry was first elected to the position of Commissioner of Labor in 2000 and took office as only the second Republican Labor Commissioner in the history of North Carolina. On April 2, 2019, Berry announced that she would not seek re-election, and would retire from politics. Josh Dobson, a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives since 2013, won the Republican primary over Chuck Stanley, a construction safety manager, and former State Rep. Pearl Burris-Floyd. Wake County commissioner Jessica Holmes was the only Democrat to run. Dobson won the general election with 50.8% of the vote.


2020 North Carolina Council of State elections, Commissioner of Insurance
Incumbent Commissioner Mike Causey, a Republican, ran for a second term.


2020 North Carolina Democratic presidential primary
The 2020 North Carolina Democratic presidential primary took place in North Carolina, United States, on March 3, 2020, as one of 14 contests scheduled on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The North Carolina primary is a semi-closed primary, with the state awarding 122 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 110 are pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary.


2020 North Carolina Democratic presidential primary
The Associated Press declared Joe Biden the winner of the North Carolina primary. Biden won southern white voters and Latino voters and also scored overwhelming support from the African American community in the South.


2020 North Carolina Democratic presidential primary, Candidates
The following candidates filed and were on the ballot in North Carolina:


2020 North Carolina Democratic presidential primary, Procedure
North Carolina is one of 14 states holding primaries on March 3, 2020, also known as "Super Tuesday", with governor Roy Cooper having signed a bill on June 22, 2018 pushing the date of the primary back until the first Tuesday in March and calling for simultaneous state, local, and presidential primaries.


2020 North Carolina Democratic presidential primary, Procedure
Voting is expected to take place throughout the state from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. In the semi-closed primary, candidates must meet a threshold of 15 percent at the congressional district or statewide level in order to be considered viable. The 110 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention will be allocated proportionally on the basis of the results of the primary.


2020 North Carolina Democratic presidential primary, Procedure
Of the 110 pledged delegates, between 4 and 9 are allocated to each of the state's 13 congressional districts and another 14 are allocated to party leaders and elected officials (PLEO delegates), in addition to 24 at-large pledged delegates. Bonus delegates will be allocated as North Carolina shares a primary date with numerous other states on Super Tuesday; these numbers do not yet account for these delegates.


2020 North Carolina Democratic presidential primary, Procedure
After county conventions on Saturday, March 28, 2020 to select delegates to the congressional district and state conventions and congressional district conventions on Saturday, April 25, 2020 to select national convention district level delegates, the state convention will subsequently be held on Saturday, June 6, 2020 to vote on the 24 pledged at-large and 14 PLEO delegates to send to the Democratic National Convention. The 110 pledged delegates North Carolina sends to the national convention will be joined by 12 unpledged PLEO delegates (8 members of the Democratic National Committee; 3 members of Congress, of which all are U.S. Representatives; and the governor).


2020 North Carolina Education Lottery 200
The 2020 North Carolina Education Lottery 200 was a NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race held on May 26, 2020, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 134 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) asphalt speedway, it was the third race of the 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season. For the first time since February, this was the first truck race to resume the season after a two-month hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chase Elliott, driving for GMS Racing, won the race, his first truck win since 2017.


2020 North Carolina Education Lottery 200
Elliott had also won the $100K bounty, that was declared by Kevin Harvick, to any full-time Cup Series drivers that can beat Kyle Busch in a truck race. John Hunter Nemechek, Garrett Smithley, and Timmy Hill also competed for the bounty. Erik Jones was scheduled to also compete for it, but due to having no owner points for his team, Wauters Motorsports, he failed to qualify for the race.


2020 North Carolina Education Lottery 200, Qualifying
Due to the pandemic, there would be no practice or qualifying, starting lineup would be determined by owner points.


2020 North Carolina FC season
The 2020 North Carolina FC season is the 14th season for North Carolina FC and its second in the USL Championship, the second-tier professional soccer league in the United States.


2020 North Carolina FC season
The season was suspended March 12 after the opening week because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It restarted July 11 with a restructured format and schedule, with NCFC's first game scheduled for July 17.


2020 North Carolina FC season
The team partnered with rapper J. Cole's Dreamville Festival for kit sponsorship for the season.


2020 North Carolina FC season, Competitions, USL Championship, Match results
All games broadcast on ESPN+ as part of the USL Championship's rights agreement with the platform. Home games broadcast locally on WRAL-2.


2020 North Carolina FC season, Competitions, U.S. Open Cup
As a USL Championship club, North Carolina FC was scheduled to enter the competition in the second round, which was to be played April 7–9. Pairings for that round were announced on January 29. The first three rounds of the tournament were postponed on March 13, 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 17, the tournament was canceled.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election
An election was held on November 3, 2020 to elect all 120 members to North Carolina's House of Representatives. The election coincided with the elections for other offices, including the Presidency, U.S Senate, Governor, U.S. House of Representatives, and state senate. The primary election was held on March 3, 2020 with a run-off on June 23, 2020.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Background
In October 2020, The Washington Post identified this state election, along with the concurrent North Carolina Senate election, as one of eight whose outcomes could affect partisan balance during post-census redistricting. New districts are being used in this election.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 1-19, District 1
Incumbent Republican Ed Goodwin has represented the 1st District since 2019.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 1-19, District 2
Incumbent Republican Larry Yarborough has represented the 2nd district since 2015.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 1-19, District 3
Incumbent Republican Michael Speciale has represented the 3rd district since 2013. Speciale didn't seek re-election and fellow Republican Steve Tyson won the open seat.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 1-19, District 4
Incumbent Republican Jimmy Dixon has represented the 4th district since 2011.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 1-19, District 5
Incumbent Democratic Howard Hunter III has represented the 5th district since 2015.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 1-19, District 6
Incumbent Republican Bobby Hanig has represented the 6th district since 2019.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 1-19, District 7
Incumbent Republican Lisa Stone Barnes has represented the 7th district since 2019. Barnes sought election to the North Carolina Senate. Republican Matthew Winslow won the open seat.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 1-19, District 8
Incumbent Democrat Kandie Smith has represented the 8th district since 2019. Former state senator Tony Moore unsuccessfully challenged Smith.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 1-19, District 9
Incumbent Republican Perrin Jones has represented the 9th district since October 2019. Jones sought election to a full term, but he was defeated by 2016 Democratic nominee Brian Farkas.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 1-19, District 10
Incumbent Republican Majority Leader John Bell has represented the 10th district since 2013.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 1-19, District 11
Incumbent Democrat Allison Dahle has represented the 11th district since 2019.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 1-19, District 12
Incumbent Republican Chris Humphrey has represented the 12th district since 2019.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 1-19, District 13
Incumbent Republican Pat McElraft has represented the 13th district since 2007.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 1-19, District 14
Incumbent Republican George Cleveland has represented the 14th district since 2005.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 1-19, District 15
Incumbent Republican Phil Shepard has represented the 15th district since 2011.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 1-19, District 16
Incumbent Republican Carson Smith has represented the 16th district since 2019.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 1-19, District 17
Incumbent Republican Frank Iler has represented the 17th district since 2009.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 1-19, District 18
Incumbent Democrat Deb Butler has represented the 18th district since 2017.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 1-19, District 19
The new 19th district contains parts of Brunswick and New Hanover counties and had no incumbent. Republican Charlie Miller won the open seat.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 20
Incumbent Republican Holly Grange has represented the 20th district since 2016. Grange ran unsuccessfully Governor of North Carolina in the 2020 election, losing the Republican primary to Dan Forest. Republican Ted Davis Jr., who has represented the 19th district since 2012, successfully sought re-election here.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 21
Incumbent Democrat Raymond Smith has represented the 21st district since 2019.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 22
Incumbent Republican William Brisson has represented the 22nd district since 2007.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 23
Incumbent Democrat Shelly Willingham has represented the 23rd district since 2015.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 24
Incumbent Democrat Linda Cooper-Suggs has represented the 24th district since her appointment in July 2020. Copper-Suggs was successfully elected to a full term.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 25
Incumbent Democrat James Gailliard has represented the 25th district since 2019.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 26
Incumbent Republican Donna McDowell White has represented the 26th district since 2017.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 27
Incumbent Democrat Michael Wray has represented the 27th district since 2005.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 28
Incumbent Republican Larry Strickland has represented the 28th district since 2017.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 29
Incumbent Democrat Vernetta Alston has represented the 29th district since 2020. Alston was successfully elected to a full term unopposed.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 30
Incumbent Democrat Marcia Morey has represented the 30th district since 2017.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 31
Incumbent Democrat Zack Forde-Hawkins has represented the 31st district since 2019. Forde-Hawkins defeated frequent Libertarian candidate Sean Haugh in the general election.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 32
Incumbent Democrat Terry Garrison has represented the 32nd district since 2017.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 33
Incumbent Democrat Rosa Gill has represented the 33rd district since 2009.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 34
Incumbent Democrat Grier Martin has represented the 34th district since 2013.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 35
Incumbent Democrat Terence Everitt has represented the 35th district since 2019.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 36
Incumbent Democrat Julie von Haefen has represented the 36th district since 2019.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 37
Incumbent Democrat Sydney Batch has represented the 37th district since 2019.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 38
Incumbent Democrat Yvonne Lewis Holley has represented the 38th district since 2013. Holley ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor in the 2020 election, thus she didn't seek re-election. Democrat Abe Jones won the open seat.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 20-39, District 39
Incumbent Democratic Minority Leader Darren Jackson has represented the 39th district since 2009. Jackson will be unoppoed for re-election


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 40-59, District 40
Incumbent Democrat Joe John has represented the 40th district since 2017.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 40-59, District 41
Incumbent Democrat Gale Adcock has represented the 41st district since 2015.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 40-59, District 42
Incumbent Democrat Marvin Lucas has represented the 42nd district since 2001.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 40-59, District 43
Incumbent Democrat Elmer Floyd has represented the 43rd district since 2009. Floyd lost re-nomination to Kimberly Hardy. Republican Diane Wheatley defeated Hardy in the general election.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 40-59, District 44
Incumbent Democrat William "Billy" Richardson has represented the 44th district since 2015.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 40-59, District 45
Incumbent Republican John Szoka has represented the 45th district since 2013.


2020 North Carolina House of Representatives election, Detailed results, Districts 40-59, District 46
Incumbent Republican Brenden Jones has represented the 46th district since 2017.