“If justice and fairness are to prevail, the integrity of the court's justices and the proceedings cannot be influenced by money or even have the appearance of being sold to the highest bidder. Whenever this possibility arises, we must call on the court to examine itself, and if necessary, recuse any justice or judge whose [...]
FairVote's Rob Richie has a featured op-ed in the Washington Post that explains why the winner-take-all election system lets a minority of voters elect a majority of the members of Congress. His solution involves adopting federal and state laws that establish bigger US House districts with multiple members per district elected using forms of proportional [...]
The co-director of the Advancement Project provides a useful summary of the status and impact of proposals to restrict voting across the nation: “This year, democracy itself was on the ballot – and America chose it in droves. Latino voters made a historic showing at the polls, comprising 10 percent of the electorate, up from [...]
For the latest analysis of electioneering groups spending money to influence the outcome of North Carolina’s gubernatorial, Supreme Court and other elections, see this updated report from the Institute for Southern Studies released today. WRAL reports that the volume of Republican Party money spent on ads to elect Paul Newby to the Supreme Court puts [...]
Do you know someone in NC who cast a Provisional Ballot? Those ballots could determine the winner of a few remaining close elections, including the Lt. Governor and 7th Congressional District contests. County Boards of Elections are researching the ballots now to decide which ones will count. Voters of provisional ballots have until Thursday at 5 PM [...]
The US Supreme Court has now agreed to hear a case from Alabama that challenges Section 5 or the pre-clearance section of the federal Voting Rights Act, the most effective law protecting the rights of people of color and other voters. The challengers say there’s no longer a need for some counties and other jurisdictions to [...]
An update from the Institute for Southern Studies asks, “What do Big Tobacco, insurance interests, and a D.C. group that's spent millions to help Republicans draw political lines all have in common? In North Carolina, they've all put big money into a pair of super PACs that want to re-elect Justice Paul Newby and maintain [...]
Only three states have new Congressional districts that wiggle and waggle in more weird patterns than North Carolina’s, according to a sophisticated computer analysis measuring compactness. NC Policy Watch provides some context for what happens when politicians design districts to segregate voters by race or ideology, creating safe havens for incumbents but more polarized politics.
A concise column by veteran reporter and former Raleigh city council member Barlow Herget begins: “There are two, fast-moving major trends in the United States that are changing society and government. And they are connected. The older trend is the increasing inequality of income in the country. It started in the 1960s when CEO’s were [...]
The group that spent $1.5 million in 2010 to help Republicans win control of the NC General Assembly is back again this year. New reports show Real Jobs NC has spent nearly $700,000 so far on a handful on state legislative races and the governor’s contest. More spending is expected, most of it for nasty [...]