Political watchers say last week’s local election results across our state could foreshadow what’s to come in the 2012 elections. Carolina Journal Managing Editor Rick Henderson examines the results of mayoral elections, sales tax hikes, and the trends that have emerged. Then we turn to the ongoing controversy over requiring a photo I.D. to vote. Polls consistently show North Carolinians overwhelmingly support a requirement for voters, but Gov. Beverly Perdue vetoed a bill this year to put voter ID in place. Hans von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow and manager of the Civil Justice Reform Initiative at the Heritage Foundation, explains why voter ID makes sense for North Carolina and other states. Next we turn to pre-K education issues. Perdue wants state lawmakers to commit another $30 million for the academic pre-kindergarten program formerly known as More At Four. But some legislators have concerns about the program’s mounting costs. You’ll hear highlights from a recent discussion on the topic involving Rep. Nelson Dollar, R-Wake, and Deborah Cassidy, director of the N.C. Division of Child Development. That’s followed by analysis of the economic value of education. Politicians and pundits offer nearly universal support for the notion that people should pursue more education to boost their economic prospects. But Stephen Miller, assistant professor of economics at Western Carolina University, offers at least one reason why education can be overrated. Miller discusses the impact of a factor known as “ability bias.” And finally, the lifting of the cap on public charter schools has resulted in new applications to create and operate the innovative schools. Terry Stoops, John Locke Foundation director of education studies, discusses the schools’ impact on K-12 education, why parents find the schools so attractive, and the student achievement in the schools.