The No. 1 legal nemesis of North Carolina’s Republican-led legislature over the past decade spoke as the guest of honor Tuesday at a Duke University symposium on redistricting. Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge James Wynn had the audacity to declare the U.S. Supreme Court as activist for daring to reverse him. This from...
After the topic sat dormant for several months, lawmakers once again took up a bill that would ban collusive settlements involving the state attorney general. A state House committee approved the bill Wednesday, Sept. 8. Senate Bill 360, Prohibit Collusive Settlements by the Attorney General, passed the House Judiciary Committee with a voice vote. The...
The N.C. Board of Elections voted Friday, May 14, to rehire Karen Brinson Bell as executive director. Board members Tommy Tucker and Stacey “Four” Eggers were the only dissenting votes. The move drew criticism from Republicans in the General Assembly who have recently called actions by Brinson Bell during the 2020 election into question. “Director...
The N.C. Senate has already passed its own version of a bill to outlaw collusive settlements. Now, a similar bill is on the move in the N.C. House after the Judiciary Committee gave approval Wednesday, May 5. House Bill 606 would require the state attorney general’s office to get sign-off from the legislature before reaching...
The N.C. Senate passed a bill along party lines on Tuesday, April 27, that would require the state attorney general’s office to get sign-off from the legislature before reaching a settlement on a lawsuit in which the General Assembly is a party. Senate Bill 360 is meant to resolve the type of situation that evolved in 2020 with...
The Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee on Wednesday, April 21, approved Senate Bill 360, which would require legislative leaders to sign off on any deal settling a lawsuit in which the General Assembly is a party. The chairmen of the committee, Sens. Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus; Warren Daniel, R-Burke; and Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell; are sponsors. The...
Republican lawmakers grilled State Board of Elections Director Karen Brinson Bell over her handling of the 2020 election in a testy back-and-forth hearing. The over two-hour hearing Tuesday, March 23, before the N.C. Senate Elections Committee hinged on one central question: Did Brinson Bell, a registered Democrat, change election law after voting began last year....
The N.C. Senate is summoning the director of the State Board of Elections to answer questions about a controversial settlement she negotiated that upended voting rules just weeks before November’s election. Karen Brinson Bell is expected to appear before the Senate Elections Committee 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 23. The questioning stems from a lawsuit brought...
Almost 40% of American voters no longer trust the electoral system
A Democratic litigator predicted North Carolina will be among a handful of states to turn blue in upcoming elections due to increasing turnout among minority and college-educated voters. Election lawyer Marc Elias made the comments during a digital briefing Tuesday, Jan. 26, sponsored by Third Way, a progressive Washington, D.C.-based think tank. Elias, currently serving...
North Carolina’s deadline for accepting mail-in absentee ballots in this year’s election finally may be settled at the venue state conservative leaders wanted: the U.S. Supreme Court. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a convoluted opinion the justices must reverse, state legislative leaders and dissenting appeals court judges say. A 12-3 majority of...
