Ari Berman of The Nation provides a good summary of the bipartisan legislation introduced yesterday to amend the Voting Rights Act to address some, but not all, of the damage resulting from the US Supreme Court’s ruling last June. Voting rights expert Spencer Overton says that, despite serious shortcomings, the bill includes “real building blocks [...]
In his PBS broadcast last week, Bill Moyers showcased North Carolina as a battleground between the politics of greed symbolized by Art Pope and the vision of a moral society strengthened by our mutual ties to one another, symbolized by the Moral Monday movement. One point to clarify in the video’s important data and interviews: When [...]
It’s been a rough year for democracy in North Carolina – but there were some positives worth noting, too. Check out Democracy North Carolina’s special wrap-up report, “2013: The Good, the Bad and the Unclear.” There are 12 items, 4 for each category. You may have some candidates to add to the list. Share them [...]
WUNC State of Things host Frank Stasio invited Democracy NC and John Locke Foundation to debate the value of North Carolina’s new voter restrictions. It turned into a revealing exchange – listen here (Click on the blue arrow/box a couple of lines below the story's title).
If you haven’t seen this video of 12-year-old Madison Kimrey blowing the crowd away at the October Moral Monday in Burlington, it’s definitely worth the watch. She takes on Gov. McCrory and Sen. Rucho for their arrogant ignorance about North Carolina’s pioneering law to allow pre-registration of 16 and 17 year-olds and require voter registration [...]
Don Yelton, a member of the NC Republican Executive Committee, appeared last night on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show on a report exploring racism and NC’s new anti-voter Monster Law. The interview started as one would expect, with Mr. Yelton reciting a well-known line: “as a result of this law, the process is going to [...]
What’s next for selectively reducing turnout in North Carolina? Let’s hope it’s not the voter roll purges that Southern states like Florida and Virginia are now undertaking. With two weeks before a hot gubernatorial election, Virginia is in the midst of a hot debate over whether it’s okay to purge a list of 38,000 voters, [...]
The federal judge who ruled in favor of the first landmark voter ID case is now admitting he made a mistake. In 2005, Indiana adopted a photo ID requirement for voters, and Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner upheld the law, the New York Times says, “because he saw no evidence that any voters would [...]
From Bob Hall, Executive Director, Democracy North Carolina September 30, 2013 Democracy North Carolina applauds the decision of the US Department of Justice to file suit against key provisions of North Carolina’s new anti-voter law, HB-589. We welcome a vigorous challenge to a law designed to push away certain voters and rig the election system [...]
By a unanimous vote, the State Board of Elections wisely decided not to get kicked in the rear by a Superior Court judge. Board members knew state law and federal court cases clearly were on the side of Montravias King’s ability to run for office from his dorm address at Elizabeth City State University. King’s [...]