Buncombe County seeks to join fight against N.C. election maps
The Democrat-dominated Buncombe County Board of Commissioners wants to join the legal fight against North Carolina's new election maps.
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OPINION – The Woodshed: Democrats plan to block primary move
Legislative Democrats and Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper are making it clear they will oppose the legislation to move North Carolina’s primary election date from May 17 to June 7.
Exit polls offer useful insights
Every two years, exit pollsters attempt to survey voters who’ve just cast ballots. They post interviewers at hundreds of voting sites across the country. They call and email voters who cast ballots by mail. The resulting exit polls are often roundly criticized and improperly reported (such as when journalists circulate and comment on raw exit-poll totals on Election Night that have not been weighted based on actual election returns.
OPINION: The people have already spoken on who represents them on NC Supreme Court
Christmas came early for justice in North Carolina. Two days before Christmas, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued a one-page order on the issue of recusal. The NACCP had asked the Court to involuntarily recuse Justices Phil Berger Jr. and Tamara Barringer from NAACP v. Moore because Justice Berger’s father was a nominal defendant and Justice Barringer served in the legislature that passed the challenged legislation.
Modems removed from voting machines in five N.C. counties
The N.C. State Board of Elections recently removed analog modems from voting equipment in five counties, a move that has drawn criticism from the N.C. House Freedom Caucus.
Governor Cooper gives a 50-50 response to six final bills for 2021
N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper signed three bills into law Thursday, Dec. 9, but also vetoed three bills. Getting the veto stamp were House Bill 220, Choice of Energy, and Senate Bill 725, Prohibit Private Money in Elections Administration, which would have banned private groups from funding local elections offices in North Carolina. The issue came up when a group founded by Mark Zuckerberg provided money for elections in 2020 in communities that leaned Democrat.
Hudson will not seek re-election to N.C. Supreme Court
The N.C. Supreme Court's senior associate justice, Robin Hudson, will not seek re-election next year. Hudson announced Thursday that she will not run for another term.
Latest Cooper veto targets bill adjusting absentee ballot deadline
Gov. Roy Cooper has vetoed a bill that would have set Election Day as the deadline for mail-in absentee ballots in future N.C. elections. Cooper's rejection of Senate Bill 326 marks his 13th veto this year and his record-extending 66th veto since taking office in 2017.
U.S. Supreme Court to hear N.C. voter ID case
The U.S. Supreme Court said Wednesday, Nov. 24, that it will hear a case early next year involving North Carolina’s voter ID law. At issue is whether state legislative leaders are allowed to intervene in the case to defend the law.
Don’t buy myth about voter turnout
Republicans in much of the country enjoyed significant success during the 2021 election cycle. They elected a GOP governor in Virginia, almost elected one in New Jersey, won several important judicial races in Pennsylvania, and even elected their first Republican candidate to local office in Seattle (city attorney) since the 1980s.
OPINION: The Woodshed: Fight over removing Supreme Court justices in voter ID case goes public
A new N.C. Supreme Court order confirms that the court's justices are considering whether to remove two colleagues from hearing a high-profile case involving voter ID. Carolina Journal was first to report that the court's four Democrats were contemplating the move that would block two Republican justices from taking part in the case.
House Freedom Caucus stymied in voting machine probe
Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the N.C. State Board of Elections, is blocking attempts by the N.C. House Freedom Caucus to inspect voting machines for possible irregularities.