Statement from Bob Hall, Executive Director, Democracy North Carolina, September 25, 2015 The bill that changes the date of the 2016 primary election includes an unrelated, terrible section that will greatly expand pay-to-play politics in North Carolina. This last-minute addition allows the top four legislative leaders to create political slush funds that can receive unlimited donations [...]
On the heels of hundreds of citizen complaints at voter ID hearings across the state, and after years of mounting public and legal pressure, Democracy North Carolina is pleased that the NC General Assembly has decided to modify the needless voter ID hurdle that voters will face starting in 2016. Even if just one percent [...]
In two Notice Letters, national and state voting-rights groups notified North Carolina officials that the state is systematically violating the federal law that requires public assistance agencies and the Division of Motor Vehicles to help citizens register to vote. ** PUBLIC ASSISTANCE AGENCIES: According to the first notice letter, voter registration applications initiated at public [...]
In March, the US Supreme Court ruled that maps drawn by Alabama lawmakers distorted the requirements of the Voting Rights Act by packing African Americans into a small number of districts. Today, the Court pointed to that decision and ordered the NC Supreme Court to reconsider a challenge to the maps drawn by the Republican-controlled [...]
NC Rep. Larry Hall and several other state legislators have introduced House Bill 240, “Allow NC College ID to Meet Voter ID Requirement,” at this link: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2015&BillID=h240 The law requiring voters to present a photo ID, beginning in 2016, has generated considerable controversy, as well as legal challenges in federal and state courts. Often lost [...]
The Washington Post published a front-page story on Sunday about Art Pope’s unique role as both a powerful inside and outside player in a state’s politics. The writer drew on interviews and material from several groups across the political spectrum, including Democracy NC, for the profile and a clever chart of Pope’s network of influence. The article [...]
In another of what has become a pattern of wacko actions, the so-called Voter Integrity Project tried to stage a “fraud-in” at a Raleigh polling place during today’s runoff election. VIP leader Jay Delancy wanted to shoot photos of a group of masked voters to highlight the cheating he believes is committed by poorly identified [...]
Despite vigorous opposition from African-American citizens, the Cleveland County Board of Elections voted 2-1 to merge five precincts into two in the city of Shelby (each precinct in North Carolina has one polling place). The two new precincts will be the largest in the county by far, with over 6,600 and 5,700 voters; they eliminate [...]
Volunteers with Democracy NC and other groups conducted a large Exit Survey at the polls in 34 counties during the May primary. An analysis of the 7,000 surveys undermines NC House Speaker Thom Tillis’ justification for passing the Monster Law; he said it was needed to “restore confidence” in elections, but it’s causing just the [...]
Republican attorneys and the State of North Carolina filed their response brief against the NC NAACP, League of Women Voters and others seeking an injunction to stop the Monster Law while the legal case winds its way through the courts. Basically, the brief says that more blacks voted in North Carolina's recent primary than in [...]
