An appeals court has agreed that a federal trial judge acted properly last month in declining to rule on the eligibility of voters in an unresolved North Carolina Supreme Court election.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that North Carolina's disputed race for a seat on the state Supreme Court must be reviewed in state courts before the matter can go before a federal tribunal.

The Federal Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday that the fight over North Carolina’s Supreme Court race will remain in state court.