The North Carolina Supreme Court met in the Historic 1767 Chowan Count Courthouse in Edenton on October 3 and 4. The beauty of the setting belied the ugly politics behind two of the cases the court heard on those days. The court had decided on a 4-3 party-line vote on July 28 to truncate the normal judicial process in Harper v. Hall, a...
Former Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts, a Democrat; and former Judge Bob Orr, a one-time Republican whose recent political efforts have been largely in opposition to his former party, are leading an initiative to increase trust in North Carolina's elections infrastructure. The initiative is sponsored by the Carter Center, former Democratic President Jimmy Carter's 501(c)3, which focuses on promoting peace and democracy across the world.
Some past columns of mine have detailed the highly questionable behavior of some librarians. While there has been no short supply of critics within the profession, including two long meetings arguing that I must “cease and desist” writing about these shortcomings, my critics should be happy to learn that this column tackles other useful idiots....
Even if you believe that all is well with voting machines in North Carolina and how the North Carolina State Board of Elections (SBE) handles election data, our election systems are only as secure as the people running them allow them to be. That is why election observers and other volunteers are vital to ensuring...
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson just picks up steam despite any highly controversial statements or past actions.
Politics is not for the faint of heart, especially in the Tar Heel state. Throughout our history, North Carolina has been the home of countless incredible statesmen — they’ve all had several common attributes. New candidates and veteran incumbents ask the same question every election cycle: “What will it take for us to win this race?” Based...
I envy the folks in the 1st Congressional District. Living as I do in the 2nd District in Wake County, I am represented by a well-entrenched incumbent Democrat. But it does not matter that she is an incumbent. The district is so heavily tilted towards the Democrats that a Republican can’t win here. That is not...
In what could be described as one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in decades, Dowless was never given the opportunity to be judged by a jury of his peers for crimes he maintained he did not commit.
A panel of the N.C. Court of Appeals has split 2-1 to rule that felons can vote in N.C. elections starting in November. Two Democratic judges agreed to the change, while a Republican colleague dissented
Wake County Democrats held a virtual forum recently for candidates vying for the right to represent Democrats in North Carolina’s most competitive congressional district. The newly court drawn 13th, includes southern Wake County, all of Johnston County and parts of Harnett and Wayne Counties. Approximately 34% of Wake County is in the new 13th, which...
A three-judge Superior Court panel has ruled, 2-1, that felons who have completed their prison sentences in North Carolina must be permitted to vote. The ruling strikes down a 1973 state law that blocked voting by felons on probation, parole, or post-release supervision. The decision could add more than 56,000 people to the state’s voting...
