North Carolina House has approved HB 10 in a bipartisan vote of 67-43.
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NC Supreme Court Orders Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Name Removed, Counties to Reprint Millions of Ballots
The North Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s name must be removed from state ballots for the upcoming presidential election, a decision that will force counties to reprint millions of ballots.
Senate Approves Funding for School Choice Programs, Overrides Five of Gov. Cooper's Vetoes
Republicans in the North Carolina Senate approved legislation clearing the Opportunity Scholarship and ESA+ waitlists, requiring North Carolina sheriffs to cooperate with federal immigration detainers, and funding various items related to education, health, and infrastructure.
John Hood: NC Campuses Rank High on Speech
As recently as 2015, nearly 60% of Americans told Gallup that they had “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in U.S. colleges and universities as a whole. Today, just 36% of respondents agree — not much different from the shares who say they have only “some” confidence (32%) and very little or none (32%).
House, Senate Leadership Reach Agreement on Spending, ICE Bill
Raleigh – North Carolina legislative leaders reached an agreement this week on a mini budget proposal to address funding needs across the state. The House and Senate will vote next week on a conference report that includes the following:
Governor Cooper Calls on Walt Disney Company and DirecTV to Reach Broadcast Agreement So North Carolinians Can Cheer on Favorite Teams This Fall
RALEIGH: Today, Governor Roy Cooper sent a letter to the Walt Disney Company and DirecTV urging them to end their dispute and come to a broadcast agreement that would allow North Carolina customers to get the services they’ve paid for and to view Atlantic Coast Conference football games and other popular sporting events.
Governor Cooper and Democratic Leaders Slam Push to Divert $625M from Public Schools to Private Vouchers
RALEIGH: Today, Governor Roy Cooper and Democratic legislative leaders held a press conference highlighting Republican legislators' disastrous plan to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more on taxpayer funded private school vouchers while that should be going to public schools. The Governor was joined by Rep. Robert Reives, Sen. Dan Blue, Sen. Michael Garrett, Sen. Lisa Grafstein, Rep. Sarah Crawford and Rep. Cynthia Ball.
Governor Cooper Tours Leicester Elementary School in Buncombe County, Highlights How Strong Public Schools Make Strong Communities
RALEIGH: On Tuesday, Governor Roy Cooper visited Leicester Elementary School in Buncombe County as part of the “Year of Public Schools” education tour and delivered supplies collected from the Governor’s School Supply Drive. The Governor was joined by teachers, students, local and state education leaders and local elected officials as he highlighted the outstanding work taking place in North Carolina’s public schools and how public education is strengthening North Carolina’s communities.
John Hood - Let a Thousand Billboards Bloom
RALEIGH — Put me down as entirely unsurprised that media companies are adding commercials back into their streaming services as a means of making them profitable. Advertising has never been as unpopular as its critics imagine — a truth that North Carolina policymakers should embrace as they try to finance new infrastructure without irritating taxpayers.
John Hood: Debates will inform state voters
RALEIGH — Brace yourself. The arrival of Labor Day traditionally begins the homestretch of electoral campaigns. You may well join millions of fellow voters in utter exhaustion with the politics of 2024. But I promise you the candidates and their surrogates are raring to run this final leg of the race.
RFK sues to have name removed from NC ballot
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed suit Friday to have his name removed from North Carolina’s election ballot. Kennedy went to court a day after the State Board of Elections voted 3-2 to reject his request to drop his name from the list of presidential candidates.
North Carolina's July County and Area Employment Figures Released
Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) increased in 83 of North Carolina’s counties in July 2024, decreased in three, and remained unchanged in 14. Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate at 7.8 percent while Dare County had the lowest at 3.2 percent.
John Hood: Campus peace for everyone
Now that fall term has begun for most colleges and universities, we’re about to witness one of the most predictable phenomena in modern American politics: for every raucous or violent campus protest that gets significant media attention, Democratic candidates will lose voters.
Leader Reives Statement on NCGOP Attempted Voter Purge
The same folks who try to rig our legislative and congressional elections with gerrymandered maps now want to rig our statewide elections by purging hundreds of thousands of voters from the voting rolls just weeks before a presidential election.
Causey responds to state court ruling in Causey v. Southland National Insurance Corp
North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance Mike Causey issued the following statement in response to a N.C. Supreme Court decision allowing a motion to withdraw the petition for discretionary review in Causey v. Southland National Insurance Corporation, with the court also dismissing the remaining items in the case:
OPINION: War on 3rd parties could come back to haunt Dems in November
For years, the Carolina Journal has been following Democratic Party efforts to keep third parties off the ballot. The Democrat strategy makes some sense practically, since the fewer left-of-center options there are, the more Democrats can dominate that voter pool. But it was always a strategy with some risks.
Alarming Outcomes from Private School Voucher Expansions in Other States Provide Cautionary Tale for North Carolina
As North Carolina legislators consider expanding the state’s private school voucher program, alarming outcomes from other states serve as a stark warning of the potential dangers.
North Carolina Woman Sues to Overturn State’s Ballot Selfie Ban
RALEIGH, N.C.,— A Raleigh resident is challenging North Carolina’s ban on taking photos of ballots, arguing that it violates First Amendment rights. Susan Hogarth filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to halt enforcement of the state law that prohibits ballot selfies.
John Hood: Downtowns Change, Like It or Not
Four years ago, communities in North Carolina and beyond were reeling from the COVID-induced Great Suppression. After spiking into double digits in April 2020, the state’s headline jobless rate was still a painful 7.3% by August, with some 376,000 fewer North Carolinians employed than on the eve of the pandemic.
North Carolina School Boards Urge General Assembly to Prioritize Public School Funding and Teacher Pay
RALEIGH: As Governor Cooper continues the “Year of Public Schools,” school boards from at least 10 school districts are calling on the General Assembly to make meaningful investments in teacher pay and fully fund our public schools instead of further expanding the state’s dangerous taxpayer-funded private school voucher scheme.