A mere 90 years ago today, a new Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution declared, “The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Women were voting in some states as early as the 1830s, [...]
The State Board of Elections voted 4 to 1 to fine Gov. Bev Perdue’s campaign committee $30,000 for failing to properly disclose private airplane flights donated to her 2008 campaign. An eight-month investigation by the Board’s chief investigator Kim Strach turned up a hodgepodge of incomplete records and compliance problems with the campaign, but not [...]
Two quick updates: One fun, one bum. Last Thursday’s LINK described the growing protest over Target’s decision to use its corporate money to meddle in a gubernatorial election in Minnesota. One sure sign of a protest movement is folks creating their own way to deliver a message and have some fun, too. Check out the [...]
The 14 chemical companies that put the most residents in the US at risk from poisonous gas leaks or terrorist attack include JCI Jones’s Charlotte facility that manufactures and distributes chlorine, sulfur dioxide and other hazardous products. A new report by US PIRG says over 800,000 people live within the immediate danger zone around the [...]
Which candidates for the NC General Assembly have the most money to spend before the election? The NC Free Enterprise Foundation posted convenient lists of the cash-on-hand for candidates in the state House and state Senate elections, based on disclosure reports through June 30, 2010. For example, Senate Democratic candidates Margaret Dickson, David Redwine, Jim [...]
The bull's-eye on Target is getting bigger. As we described in our August 2 entry, the retailer donated $100,000 to a business group for ads supporting a rightwing gubernatorial candidate in its home state of Minnesota. It gave another $50,000 to help the group’s operations. Now Target is paying the price and teaching other corporations [...]
J. Art Pope, the rightwing sugar daddy for the John Locke Foundation and big donor to Americans for Prosperity, is using a 527 committee to funnel his corporation’s money into political ads aimed at discrediting Democratic candidates for the NC General Assembly in this fall’s election. Pope has done this before with six-figure donations from [...]
A 120-page report by a trio of nonprofit groups analyzes the $207 million spent on the nation’s state judicial elections over the past decade, more than double the amount spent in the previous decade. Self interested “super-spenders” are especially fueling the arms race that aims to turn “blind justice” into “justice for sale.” A forward [...]
The Associated Press has two articles about the vacancy created by NC Appeals Court Judge Jim Wynn being sworn in as a new judge on the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. One article highlights the fact that the opening will be filled by voters ranking their choices (Instant Runoff Voting) if more than two [...]
A op-ed column by Joyce McCloy provides useful background on the ballot-price controversy the News & Observer has promoted. North Carolina has tough voting system standards because of federal and state law and experience with thousands of votes being lost by poorly designed machines. Only one company, ES&S, is willing to put up a hefty [...]