North Carolina General Assembly voted this week to clear the Opportunity Scholarship Program waitlist. This will give over 50,000 more students in the state vouchers to attend the private school of their choice.
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After House vote, NC is on the cusp of universal school choice
North Carolina House voted Wednesday to pass a bill that will clear the waitlist for the state’s voucher program and bring true universal school choice to the state for the first time.
OPINION: War on 3rd parties could come back to haunt Dems in November
For years, the Carolina Journal has been following Democratic Party efforts to keep third parties off the ballot. The Democrat strategy makes some sense practically, since the fewer left-of-center options there are, the more Democrats can dominate that voter pool. But it was always a strategy with some risks.
Republicans sue NC elections board over noncitizen voter roll cleanup
The Republican National Committee and North Carolina GOP are suing the State Board of Elections. Republicans claim state election officials are ignoring a 2023 state law requiring removal from the voting rolls of noncitizens identified through jury questionnaires.
North Carolina's 2024 presidential primary candidates approved
North Carolina's State Board of Elections has unanimously approved names of candidates to go on state ballots for the presidential primary on March 5, 2024.
Lawsuit challenging NC congressional election map arrives on opening day of candidate filing
Eighteen black and Latino plaintiffs working with Democratic lawyer Marc Elias’ law firm have filed a federal lawsuit to block North Carolina’s new congressional map. They took their case to court on the same afternoon that candidate filing began for the state’s 2024 elections.
Candidate filings off to busy start in NC
A bustling crowd of candidate hopefuls stood in line at the Gov. James G. Martin Building at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh Monday as candidate filing got underway for the 2024 election cycle in North Carolina. The candidate list as of Tuesday morning is available here.
OPINION: Leave concerns about Earls’ controversial comments to the voters
State Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls accused conservative colleagues of placing their ideology above the institution, she might have engaged in constitutionally protected political speech.
Op-Ed: Sowell laments progressives' history of certainty, dismissiveness
Progressives differ in substantial ways from those who carried the same political label 100 years ago.
Turkey prices are down, but food prices still soaring
While consumers may see a slight dip in food costs for this Thanksgiving, prices are still up compared to pre-pandemic 2019. The American Farm Bureau says this year’s classic feast for 10 family and friends should cost, on average, $61.17. That’s a bit more than 4% down from 2022. However, in 2022 the nation saw a dramatic 9.9% increase in food prices.
Leandro plaintiffs seek Berger Jr.’s recusal from upcoming hearing
Plaintiffs in North Carolina’s long-running education funding legal dispute are seeking Justice Phil Berger Jr.’s recusal from the state Supreme Court’s pending hearing in the case. Critics object to Berger considering a case involving his father, the state Senate’s top officer.
NC Chamber blasts Cooper over his accusation of racial bias
In a letter Sunday to Gov. Roy Cooper, the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce called his accusations of racial bias in the Chamber’s work “malevolent and libelous.”
Cooper visits Hindu temple as Robinson travels to Israel
North Carolina’s governor and lieutenant governor had anything but a typical Monday as one attended an event marking a religious holiday in the state while the other traveled across the world near a war zone.
NC ranked 6th most economically free state in US
Tar Heel State is in the top tier of economically free states, according to the latest rankings from the Fraser Institute.
Young, urban Republicans set on taking back Charlotte
A slate of Republicans, including a group of young, first-time candidates, are hoping to turn the tide of Charlotte City Council with a red wave of their own this July. A Republican has not been elected to an at-large council seat in Charlotte since 2009.
Split Appeals Court panel rules felon voting can begin in November
A panel of the N.C. Court of Appeals has split 2-1 to rule that felons can vote in N.C. elections starting in November. Two Democratic judges agreed to the change, while a Republican colleague dissented.
N.C. Supreme Court grants Leandro judge's request for more time
The N.C. Supreme Court is giving the new judge overseeing North Carolina's long-running Leandro school funding lawsuit another seven days to issue his ruling. The high court granted the judge's request for additional time in an order Wednesday.
OPINION: State Supreme Court Democrats open door for more legal mischief
The N.C. Supreme Court recently ordered a new trial for a man convicted in a 26-year-old murder case. The circumstances of the court’s split decision raise concerns for Republican justices.
Judge ends Biden's mask mandate on planes and trains
On Monday, a federal judge rejected President Joe Biden’s mask mandates for trains and planes. Florida-based U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle ruled that the Centers for Disease Control had skipped a crucial responsibility to get public impact on the mandate, and improperly used the “good cause exemption” to skirt public notice requirements.
A new filing in the long-running Leandro school funding lawsuit would lop another $25 million off of the cost of court-ordered education spending. Even with the change, advocates still want a court to force the state to spend an additional $770 million on education.