The State Board of Elections will send voters whose absentee ballots lack a witness signature a new ballot, restoring a process for mail-in votes that was tied up in state and federal courts. Meanwhile, the N.C. Court of Appeals has ended its order blocking other provisions of a state…
A U.S. District Court judge will not permit N.C. election officials to count absentee ballots that lack a witness signature required by law. But the judge has refused to block other election changes that generated opposition from Republicans. That means the N.C. State Board of Elections can move forward with…
Two lawsuits challenging the N.C. State Board of Elections’ plans for handling absentee ballots this fall head before a federal judge Thursday, Oct. 8, in Greensboro. A hearing on both suits is scheduled less than one day after the same judge criticized the state elections board in a separate case.
This story will be updated regularly. Fewer than six weeks from the 2020 general election, two of the five members of the State Board of Elections walked off the job. Republicans are disgusted. They say they were misled by information from the board. Its staff. State…
A Superior Court judge has struck down Wilmington’s citywide restrictions on vacation rentals. An Institute for Justice news release praised the ruling. Judge Richard Harrell determined that a Wilmington ordinance violated a state law “prohibiting municipalities from requiring rental permits,” according to IJ, which represented plaintiffs in the case. “The…
In a split 2-1 ruling, the N.C. Court of Appeals has reinstated voter-approved state constitutional amendments to require voter ID and to cap the state’s income tax rate. The decision overturns a trial court’s February 2019 decision to throw out the amendments approved by voters in the 2018 general…
Some N.C. felons who have finished their active prison time will be able to cast ballots in the 2020 election, based on a 2-1 ruling from a state Superior Court panel. The court’s order applies to any felon who is out of prison but still must pay fees or…
A three-judge panel has rejected a plea to block absentee ballot witness requirements for North Carolina’s fall election. The decision in N.C. Superior Court generated praise from the state Senate’s leader on election issues. “The judges were right to reject this dangerous attempt to eliminate basic protections against fraudulent…
The N.C. Senate’s leader on election law issues is blasting the latest lawsuit from Gov. Roy Cooper. The suit challenges the makeup of a state body that oversees government rules. “It’s another power grab, plain and simple,” said Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell, in a news release. Hise co-chairs the General…
Facing federal charges of making a false statement to a bank and failing to file a tax return, powerful N.C. state lawmaker David Lewis has resigned from his position “effective immediately.” A court filing alleges that Lewis diverted $65,000 from his campaign bank account to his business in 2018,…
