Ballot-selfie ban protects voters and elections security

The ban on ballot selfies narrowly serves the government's interest to hinder vote-buying operations and voter intimidation.

Locke’s Andy Jackson testifies about third-party ballot access in North Carolina

Andy Jackson, director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity at the John Locke Foundation, testifies about the N.C. State Board of Elections’ approach to third-party ballot access in 2024. Jackson offered these comments during the July 23,. 2024, meeting of the N.C. House Select Committee on Oversight and Reform.

General Assembly should let the people vote on citizen-only voting amendment

North Carolinians are ready to approve a citizen-only voting amendment to the state constitution. Legislators should give them the opportunity to do so by passing House Bill 1074.

US Supreme Court returns mapmaking to legislators, makes future lawsuits harder

Democrats in both Carolinas are learning the only real answer to their redistricting complaints is actually winning elections.

Why NC Supreme Court should consider election board questions separately

North Carolina House Speak Tim Moore and Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger have filed a notice of appeal after a three-judge panel unanimously struck down Session Law 2023-139 (Senate Bill 749), the law making the North Carolina State Board of Elections bipartisan and granting the General Assembly appointment power for that board. The next...

Election data problems are due to mistakes not malice

There are times when citizens should be angry with election officials. For example, people were properly up in arms when the State Board of Elections (SBE) twice tried to illegally suppress election observers over the past few years. Another example is when the SBE participated in a “Sue and Settle” scheme to alter election laws...

Freedom of speech protects unpopular ideas

A gaggle of left-wing academic departments at the University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA), many with the predictable “studies” as part of their titles, recently sponsored an event that explored what they claimed was “anti-Black or anti-Indigenous state violence that connects the United States and Israel.” It was an event with the clear aim...

Progressive groups finding ways around NC’s ‘Zuck bucks’ ban

On Oct. 10, the North Carolina General Assembly overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto on critical election integrity legislation, Senate Bill 747. One aspect of the new law is a ban on accepting corrosive private funds for conducting elections, making North Carolina the 26th state to do so.   These bans are aimed at preventing ideologically biased...

Vetoed bill will make North Carolina elections more secure

The 2020 election exposed problems with how elections are conducted in North Carolina.   My colleague Jim Stirling and I cataloged many of those problems in a report published by the John Locke Foundation last year. They include regular mail ballots accepted after election day, private funds sent to election officials, and election officials accepting ballots...

Locke’s Andy Jackson supports House version of NC election reform bill

Andy Jackson, director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity at the John Locke Foundation, explains his support for the House version of Senate Bill 747. The bill addresses election reforms. Jackson offered these comments during the Aug. 15, 2023, meeting of the House Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform Committee.

Legacy preferences should join racial preferences in dustbin

The nation’s highest court decided in Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard on June 29 that universities could no longer practice racial discrimination in the name of diversity.  The court made clear that, under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, “Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.” In other words, there...

How we can limit partisan gerrymandering in 2023

The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled on April 28 that partisan gerrymandering claims were “nonjusticiable, political questions” and ordered the General Assembly to redraw the state’s House, Senate, and congressional maps. The legislature will take up that task later this year.   With the threat of a (successful) political gerrymandering lawsuit largely behind them, how should...