voter suppression
States Newsroom national reporter Zachary Roth discusses threats to democracy
Even though Donald Trump has been out of office now for well over two and a half years, some of his conservative allies – particularly at the state legislative level – continue to advance new laws that threaten democracy by making voting more difficult and exclusive and handing the oversight of elections to partisan […]
North Carolina fought for centuries to become a democracy. We can’t go numb now.
Cynicism is a poor facsimile of a skeptical mind. Perhaps unwittingly, North Carolina political insiders have vacated their sense of shock at the authoritarian machinations that have become a central hallmark of Republican rule in our state. NC Newsline editor Rob Schofield succinctly characterized this learned helplessness as a body politic gone “numb.” In the […]
States that send a mail ballot to every voter really do increase turnout, scholars find
Lately, a rough consensus has emerged among people who study the impact of voting policies: Though they often spark fierce partisan fighting, most changes to voting laws do little to affect overall turnout, much less election results. But one fast-growing reform appears to stand out as an exception. When every registered voter gets sent a […]
Integrity, huh? The truth about the political right’s election law agenda
On one level, you’ve got to hand it to the conservative politicians, Fox News talking heads, and right-wing think tankers who drone on incessantly about their supposed passionate commitment to “election integrity.” Like any number of political actors who, despite the absence of supporting facts and data, have managed nonetheless to drive significant political and […]
Common Cause NC’s Sailor Jones on the legislature’s latest efforts to make voting more difficult
Senate Bill 747 is a grab-bag of Republican election law changes. Last week Governor Roy Cooper vetoed the bill noting the legislation has “nothing to do with election security and everything to do with Republicans keeping and gaining power.” Republicans have pledged a quick override of Cooper’s latest veto. Common Cause of North Carolina Associate […]
“Look what WE did:” National extremists score with NC voter suppression bill
Last week, North Carolina Election Integrity Team (NCEIT) President and Lee County GOP Chair Jim Womack said the quiet part out loud when he told news reporters he would “fundamentally disagree” with the notion that more people voting helps conservatives. This admission likely helps explain why Senate Bill 747 would jeopardize so many North Carolina ballots. […]
North Carolina GOP advances “Monster Voting Law” 2.0
Ten years ago, the Republican majority of the North Carolina General Assembly unveiled and swiftly enacted a bill to restrict voting and rig elections that critics quickly and aptly dubbed the “Monster Voting Law.” A lot of that law was ultimately struck down as unconstitutional after a federal court found that it targeted Black voters […]
A top GOP lawyer wants to crack down on the college vote. States already are.
A top Republican election lawyer recently caused a stir when she told GOP donors that the party should work to make it harder for college students to vote in key states. But the comments from Cleta Mitchell, who worked closely with then-President Donald Trump to try to overturn the 2020 election, are perhaps less surprising […]
After switch, they’re set to party hearty
The forces in North Carolina’s General Assembly aligned with what typically are seen as progressive causes – including strong public schools, fair and adequate taxation, wide access to decent health care, racial justice, elections open to meaningful participation by all qualified voters – began the month of April with their hopes hanging by a thread. […]
Federal agencies lag in registering voters despite Biden executive order, advocates say
Within weeks of taking office in 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order — hailed by voter advocates as potentially transformative — that for the first time committed the U.S. government to registering new voters at federal agencies. But just over two years later, most of the 10 agencies examined in a recent report […]
Déjà vu: NC Supreme Court rehears arguments in voter ID case
For the second time in two days, the Republican-majority high court rehears arguments in a case decided by a Democratic majority just months ago The North Carolina Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on whether a voter ID law passed in 2018 was intended to discriminate against prospective voters of color.
Concerns grow that voter intimidation could disrupt midterm elections
NC is on the list of states where worries are high PHOENIX — The two outdoor ballot drop boxes in Maricopa County are both unassuming—secure metal boxes, about the size of blue mailboxes, located just outside county buildings. But in recent weeks, they’ve at times been monitored by volunteers with far-right organizations, prompted by former […]