judicial elections
Must read report: The explosive growth in spending on judicial elections
In "The Politics of Judicial Elections, 2019-20," Brennan Center for Justice experts explain how and why special interests are spending more than ever on state high court races In 2019–20, state supreme court elections attracted more money — including more spending by special interests — than any judicial election cycle in history, posing a serious threat to the appearance and reality of justice across the country.
NC GOP raffling off assault weapons to boost judicial candidates
There’s no explanation as to why one needs to be a man or own an AR-15 semi-automatic assault weapon (a weapon banned in some states) or a handgun to hunt game, but that isn’t stopping the North Carolina Republican Party from conducting a raffle for “North Carolina Republican Sportsmen” to benefit its “Judicial Victory Fund.” […]
2020 judicial elections: There are plenty of races to keep an eye on
Candidate filing for the 2020 elections in North Carolina has ended, and it’s going to be a big year for judicial races. There are three seats on the state Supreme Court up for election, and each race will be competitive, according to the candidate filing list from the State Board of Elections, which was last […]
Supreme Court justice candidates debate on Capital Tonight
North Carolina’s three state Supreme Court candidates appeared Thursday on Spectrum News’ Capital Tonight for a short debate. Republican Justice Barbara Jackson is running as the incumbent against fellow Republican Chris Anglin and Democrat Anita Earls. The GOP changed the law recently to make all judicial races partisan, then they litigated after Anglin changed his […]
Report calls for state supreme court reform, including in North Carolina
The Brennan Center for Justice has released a new report calling for reform to state supreme courts, particularly where high-cost elections have become the norm. “The U.S. Supreme Court isn’t the only institution roiled by a highly politicized judicial selection process,” a news release Thursday stated. The report from the nonpartisan law and policy institute, “Choosing […]
Unplugged power supply to blame for missing special session audio from House chamber
It took Legislative Services Officer Paul Coble more than a month to mail NC Policy Watch one email from July accounting for missing House chamber audio from the special session in which lawmakers retroactively changed judicial filing rules. “So, not cut wire,” the email from July 25 states. “A power supply was unplugged that is […]
Anglin, Edwards will officially be on November ballot with party labels
North Carolina lawmakers gave up their fight yesterday to keep some judicial candidates from appearing on the November ballot with their party labels. The state Court of Appeals declined earlier in the week to stay a lower court’s ruling that Chris Anglin, a registered Republican running for a state Supreme Court seat, and Rebecca Edwards, a […]
Court of Appeals agrees to let Anglin, Edwards keep party labels on ballot
The state Court of Appeals declined to stay a lower court’s ruling that two judicial candidates could remain on the November ballot with their party labels. If the state Supreme Court doesn’t get involved, it means there will be two Republicans listed for a spot on the high court, Christopher Anglin and incumbent Justice Barbara […]
Lawmakers to appeal ruling that Anglin, Edwards can keep party labels
State lawmakers are appealing a judge’s ruling from Monday blocking their retroactive change in judicial filing rules. Attorneys for House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger filed notices of appeal Tuesday afternoon. The case will go to the state Court of Appeals, where the process typically involves a three-judge panel to […]
Judge puts NCGA’s retroactive change of judicial filing rules on hold for the moment
The State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement cannot certify or print any election ballots until after a Wake County judge hears full arguments over the General Assembly’s decision to change judicial election rules after candidate filing. Chris Anglin and Rebecca Edwards both filed separate lawsuits over Senate Bill 3, which retroactively requires judicial candidates […]
Updated: 4 lawsuits filed this morning over constitutional amendments, veto overrides
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect another lawsuit that was filed today. Four different lawsuits were filed this morning in Wake County Superior Court over the constitutional amendments that are expected to be on the ballot this November and the legislative veto overrides from the weekend. Chris Anglin threatened to sue lawmakers […]
Here are the judicial candidates who would be affected by tomorrow’s veto override
If there’s any takeaway for judicial candidates from Raleigh politics over the past few months, it’s that no one is safe. Lawmakers are expected to vote to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes tomorrow — House Bill 3, which addresses the constitutional amendment captions and Senate Bill 3, which changes the rules about which judicial candidates […]