Articles
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...
Repairing the damage to the North Carolina Supreme Court.
What defines an activist court? Is it one that establishes new rules by expanding and stretching the constitution to write a perceived wrong, or is it a court that looks to readdress prior rulings and potentially establish precedents more grounded in the constitution? Traditionally the former is what many would consider to be an activist...
Bill Creates a Smoother Transition for Judicial Retirements
A bill in the General Assembly would allow some judges who reach the state mandatory retirement age to complete their terms, limiting the disruption of their retirements. North Carolina Judges Are Forced to Retire at 72 North Carolina law (GS 7A-4.20.) requires sitting judges to retire by the end of the month of their 72nd...
State Should Protect Privacy or Withdraw from Voter Registration Data Program
North Carolina joined the ERIC data-sharing program to clean its voter registration rollsSeveral states have recently withdrawn from the program over concerns about data security and the influence of non-state actors in the programNorth Carolina should either take steps to assure data privacy or join other states in withdrawing from ERIC The Electronic Registration Information...
Testimony for Removing the Literacy Test from North Carolina’s Constitution
I spoke in favor of House Bill 44, removing the literacy test from the North Carolina Constitution at a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee on the morning of March 1. My prepared comments are below: I am Andy Jackson with the John Locke Foundation. I speak in favor of House Bill 44, the constitutional...
Impact of Wake County Elections Bill: Partisan Index for Wake County Commissioner Districts
House Bill 99 looks to modify Wake County Commissioners elections from partisan and countywide to non-partisan elections and by district. This proposed change has caused some to exaggerate the impact of the bill. So, what do the numbers say? Utilizing the Wake County 2022 election data on the State Board of Elections website, I created...
Wake Elections Bill Goes Too Far, and Not Far Enough
House Bill 99, sponsored by Erin Paré (R-Wake), introduces an essential reform to how county commissioners would be elected in Wake County. It also makes a change that would deny voters helpful information. Wake County Should Elect Commissioners by District. So Should Other Counties The first change the bill would make is to change how...
