Articles
SB 749: The Good and Bad of North Carolina’s proposed board of elections changes
Senate Bill 749, “No Partisan Advantage in Elections,” passed along party lines in the North Carolina Senate and now moves on to the state House. As the bill’s name implies, SB 749 changes the composition of the state board of elections and county boards from favoring the governor and his political party to an even...
How Much Would the Senate Elections Bill Actually Impact Voters?
The proposed changes to mail-in voting would have minimal impact — in 2022, 99.8% of all ballots were in by election dayThe impact of the bill’s changes to same-day voter registration simply requires one additional form of ID and provides multiple ballot cure processes for voters prior to the official county canvassThe bill would add...
House Will Likely Join Senate in Batting Down Compelled Speech Veto
Here are some questions: Should government agencies train employees to believe that one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex? Should those agencies tell employees that an individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of his or her race or sex? Should agencies teach their...
Alabama Racial Gerrymandering Case Will Likely Have Little Impact on North Carolina
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Alabama’s congressional map was a racial gerrymanderThe totality of several racial gerrymandering cases creates a safe harbor between violating the Voting Rights Act and unconstitutionally using race to draw congressional districtsSince the General Assembly has already shown they can draw VRA-compliant districts without using racial data, the Alabama ruling...
Public Statements on Two Election Reform Bills
I offered public comments on two election reform bills before the North Carolina Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee on June 14. My prepared comments (which assumed a two-minute speaking time per bill) are below. SB 747: Elections Law Changes I am speaking in support of SB 747. The bill has a host of election reforms....
State Board of Elections Wants Funds to Update Aging Computer Systems
The North Carolina State Board of Elections uses two computer systems to manage data such as campaign fiance reports, voter registration, and election countsThe Board has asked the General Assembly for $13.6 million to upgrade those systemsUpgrading those systems would provide for more efficient and secure elections administration The North Carolina State Board of Elections...
Big Election Bill Makes a Host of Reforms
Senators unveiled a large set of election reforms on June 1, many of which the John Locke Foundation had advocated for over the past several years. Senate Bill 747 has the unassuming moniker “An Act to Make Various Changes Regarding Elections Law.” That is appropriate since most of the bill focuses on changes to election...
Who Doesn’t Believe the 2024 Election Will Be Free and Fair?
Looking at the latest Civitas Poll, one question jumped out at me: North Carolinians’ faith in elections, however, is not assuring. Only half of likely North Carolina voters (50.7%) believe this year’s elections will be free and fair. Interestingly, younger people are more inclined to question the fairness of our elections, with nearly 40% of...
North Carolina Supreme Court was Right in Reestablishing State Felon Voting Law.
The North Carolina Supreme Court recently issued three significant election rulings regarding Voter ID, Political Gerrymandering, and Felon voting. These decisions have led many left-wing activists to proclaim this “the end of democracy.” The irony of this claim is clearly lost on them. Courts had previously morphed themselves into a policy-making body in all three...
North Carolina Supreme Court was Right in Reestablishing States Felon Voting Law.
The North Carolina Supreme Court recently issued three significant election rulings regarding Voter ID, Political Gerrymandering, and Felon voting. These decisions have led many left-wing activists to proclaim this “the end of democracy.” The irony of this claim is clearly lost on them. Courts had previously morphed themselves into a policy-making body in all three...
Reversing Course on Election Data-sharing Program Is Looking Better
I spent the better part of two years advocating for North Carolina to join the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a program that would be a “strong tool to help keep our elections more secure.” Since then, it has become clear that ERIC has problems, including opaqueness in how the organization handles data and unnecessary...
Fact-Checking: Governor Cooper’s Claim on the 2022 Districts Being Gerrymandered
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has recently made the national media rounds claiming that the current General Assembly is a partisan gerrymander. Does this claim have any merit? The short answer is not at all. The original 2022 maps for state House, Senate, and Congressional maps were challenged under both racial and partisan gerrymandering claims. ...
Election Transparency: Planned Parenthood State-Level Campaign Spending
The North Carolina General Assembly is set to take up the veto override of SB20, the Care for Women, Children, and Families Act, much to the chagrin of Gov. Roy Cooper, who has conducted a pressure campaign in an attempt to swing legislators. While critics have claimed the bill is a total ban on abortions,...
The North Carolina Supreme Court Was Right on Redistricting Lawsuit. Now What?
The North Carolina Supreme Court correctly decided that partisan gerrymandering claims are “nonjusticiable, political questions”The General Assembly should avoid using partisan data when it redraws maps later this yearNow is a good time to consider redistricting reform While the North Carolina Supreme Court correctly affirmed that questions of partisanship in redistricting are out of its...
Court Found Voter ID is Constitutional. It Is Also Good Policy.
When the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled on our state’s voter ID law on April 28th, the justices only had to answer one narrow question: “[Does the voter ID law] violate the meaningful protections set forth in Article I, Section 19 of the North Carolina Constitution?” The court found that it does not. The state...
The Context for Three North Carolina Supreme Court Election Rulings
The North Carolina Supreme Court upheld felon disenfranchisement, reversed an earlier ruling overturning congressional and state legislative districts, and reinstated voter ID in a dramatic day of rulings on April 28. It dismissed all three cases “with prejudice,” meaning that plaintiffs cannot bring these suits before North Carolina courts again. Here is some context of...
North Carolina House Bill Would Require More Election Transparency
I wrote last year about persistent problems with both the North Carolina State Board of Elections (SBE) and county boards of elections limiting election transparency: The SBE worked to suppress election observers and limit transparency in 2020, a pattern of behavior that continues today. There was also a problem with county elections boards limiting transparency...
Bill Limiting Early Voting Days Is a Step in the Right Direction, but a Small One
A bill in the General Assembly would reduce the maximum number of early voting days in North Carolina from 17 to eightReducing early voting has little to no impact on voter turnoutReducing the number of early voting days would have small benefits for county election boards, political parties, and civic groups A bill in the...
Harper v. Hall Impact on Tricia Cotham
State House member Tricia Cotham’s move from Democrat to Republican has become a major focal point for Raleigh. With her addition, Republicans now have a 72-member caucus and have claimed a super majority for the House to match the one Republicans regained in the Senate after last year’s election. While Cotham currently represents a safe...
Two Questions About Election Reforms in the House Budget
The 415-page 2023 North Carolina House budget includes a two-page section on election reforms (PART XXVI, starting on page 345). It includes five reform proposals. Budgets have become vehicles for pushing policies that have little connection with state spending. The John Locke Foundation’s Brian Balfour pointed out that not everything in budget bills is about...
Making Mail Ballots Due on Election Day Is Right
Below is my prepared public comment for the North Carolina House Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform Committee meeting on House Bill 304, The Election Day Integrity Act: I am Andy Jackson with the John Locke Foundation. I am speaking in support of HOUSE BILL 304, The Election Day Integrity Act, which would make election...
How 1,760 “Ghosts” Voted in the 2020 Election
A loophole in North Carolina law allows ballots from unverified registrations to be countedAbout 1,760 ballots from never verified voter registrations were counted in the 2020 election aloneBallots from unverified registrations should be made provisional, and affected registrants should be given an opportunity to verify their registrations A loophole in North Carolina election law causes...
Bill to Have Counties Equally Represented in Senate Will Fail
A bill in the General Assembly would amend the state constitution so that counties would be equally represented in the North Carolina Senate. House Bill 376 would amend the North Carolina Constitution so “each senator shall represent two counties.” It would also lift the current ban on the General Assembly redrawing districts mid-decade. The bill...
Supreme Court Can Right a Wrong in Voter ID Rehearing
The North Carolina Supreme Court is rehearing Holmes v. Moore, a voter ID case, today. That is a good thing, one the previous court majority brought about through the legal and procedural flaws in its decision last December. It is one of two cases the court is rehearing this week. Procedural Flaws in December Ruling...
