A bill to satisfy North Carolina’s new constitutional amendment requiring photo identification for voters is too broad, allowing multiple forms of voter identification that could gum up the system and encourage voter fraud, some Republican legislators say. Senate Bill 824, Implementation of Voter I.D. Constitutional Amendment, includes, among other things, provisions which would allow community...
Lawmakers and Gov. Roy Cooper’s staff are negotiating the structure of a new state agency to replace the Bipartisan State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement. For now, though, it’s unclear how elections enforcement will be handled after Monday, Dec. 3. That’s when the current board presumably must dissolve, based on a court order handed down...
The chairman of the Wake County Republican Party has filed a complaint with the Bipartisan State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement alleging Chairman Andy Penry, a Democrat, has broken the law. The complaint demands Penry’s removal from office. The complaint comes not only as the board has refused to certify the Rev. Mark Harris,...
A bipartisan bill to implement the state’s new constitutional amendment requiring photo identification to vote whisked through the Senate Select Committee on Elections by unanimous vote. A second round of debate in the Senate Rules Committee and a second floor vote are set for Wednesday, Nov. 28. Senate Bill 824, whose primary sponsors are Sens....
With the November election over, lawmakers must reconfigure the Bipartisan Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement to comply with a Superior Court order. The order was issued in October in the Cooper v. Berger case, which revolves around the constitutionality of the Bipartisan Board of Election and Ethics Enforcement. Superior Court Judges Todd Burke and...
Lawmakers are developing rules for the freshly passed voter ID constitutional amendment. But nobody believes the law will take effect without a pitched court battle. One voting law expert has a suggestion. “I would recommend that the state legislature include a provision in any enabling legislation that gives the legislature the power to appoint a...
The 2018 ballot was loaded with constitutional amendments. Six, to be exact. Four will become part of the state constitution, but the General Assembly must pass enabling legislation for one, “Requires a photo ID to vote in person.” It passed by a 55 percent-45 percent vote. The voter ID amendment is a workaround for a 2013...
Now that Democrats have erased the GOP’s veto-proof majorities for the 2019 legislative session, Republican lawmakers could try to rush initiatives through a lame duck legislative session scheduled for Nov. 27, a top political observer says. Democrats gained ground by wiping out Republican legislative delegations in Wake and Mecklenburg counties. Jonathan Kappler, executive director of...
The Republican-led General Assembly hoped placing six constitutional amendments on the 2018 ballot which had polled well with voters would drive turnout in the GOP’s favor. Instead, only four passed, while two which would have shifted more power to the legislative branch were defeated decisively. Amendments enshrining in the state constitution a right to hunt...
The latest Spectrum Poll shows voters probably aren’t sold on all six proposed constitutional amendments. A number of factors, including coordinated opposition to some and the number of amendments on the ballot, may have caused this split. SurveyUSA queried 1,200 North Carolina adults on behalf of Spectrum News from Oct. 26 to Oct. 29. Of...
Senate District 1 (Northeastern North Carolina including Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hertford, Hyde, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell, and Washington counties.) Bob Steinburg, Republican. Occupation: Retired. Education: Upper Iowa University, bachelor’s degree in business administration. Corning Community College, associate’s degree in retail business management. Career highlights: Member North Carolina House of Representatives, 2013-present. Founder and owner...
