Only an ‘extreme partisan’ Supreme Court would rule against N.C. election maps
A ruling against legislative defendants in North Carolina's latest redistricting dispute would require multiple questionable decisions from the state Supreme Court.
A ruling against legislative defendants in North Carolina's latest redistricting dispute would require multiple questionable decisions from the state Supreme Court.
Democrat Party-aligned groups challenging North Carolina’s recently enacted election maps told a three-judge panel Thursday that the maps are extremely partisan. They said the maps for legislative and congressional elections are so partisan in favoring Republican candidates that they violate North Carolina’s constitutional guarantee of “free elections.” That was a key argument in closing arguments...
A liberal UNC-Chapel Hill professor testified Tuesday that GOP-crafted election maps represent a conservative white backlash against rising black political power. Professor James Leloudis appeared on behalf of Democratic Party-aligned plaintiffs working to overturn voting maps passed by the Republican-led General Assembly, arguing that the maps are unfair to black North Carolinians. Leloudis, a UNC-CH...
Does a one-seat partisan advantage in the drawing of North Carolina’s new congressional district maps amount to an extreme partisan gerrymander that is impermissible under the N.C. Constitution? That was much of the focus on the first day of a trial on the constitutionality of new congressional and legislative maps recently passed by the General...
Democrats on the state Supreme Court will not use their narrow 4-3 majority to forcibly remove two GOP justices from a critical case dealing with state constitutional amendments. In an order released without fanfare just before Christmas, the court has in essence preserved the status quo. It has preserved a practice that’s been in place...
North Carolina Democrats got an early Christmas gift when Carolina Journal and other media reported that state Sen. Jeff Jackson, D-Mecklenburg, would be canceling his U.S. Senate campaign. His move clears the field for North Carolina Chief Justice Cheri Beasley to become the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate. Jackson endorsed Beasley in his announcement exiting...
Editor’s note: This article has been updated. State Sen. Jeff Jackson has dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination in North Carolina’s 2022 U.S. Senate race. Announcing his decision via social media, Jackson has endorsed former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley. Carolina Journal learned from multiple sources, both Democrat and Republican,...
No matter what the courts do with North Carolina’s new congressional district map, the area that was once a deep-blue secure district for Democrats, and specifically for Rep. G.K. Butterfield for the last 18 years, is likely to be a competitive congressional seat over the next decade. A decline in the African-American voting population and...
Republican legislative defendants play one final card. Will Republicans get in on the recussal tactic, too? In this final episode of season 1, hosts Dallas Woodhouse and Mitch Kokai, joined by legal expert Jeanette Doran, examine what the long game is for the Democrats and whether Republicans will make a move to meet force with...
Former cabinet secretary Elizabeth Dole had an unusual start to her campaign for U.S. Senate. At the urging of the George W. Bush administration, Dole was running to replace five-term U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, who was retiring at the end of his term in 2002. It was a beautiful Tuesday morning for the “Dole for...
The Court receives arguments they’ve been waiting for, but is it too little, too late? The poisonous, calculated attempt by the plaintiffs to forcibly remove two sitting state Supreme Court justices could set a dangerous precedent on North Carolina’s highest court for decades to come. In this episode of Extreme Injustice, your hosts Dallas Woodhouse...
Despite polling showing him down double digits, combined with a historically bad political environment for Democrats, incumbent Supreme Court Justice Sam “Jimmy” Ervin IV filed for re-election on Monday — the first day of candidate filing. Democrat Lucy Inman and Republican Richard Dietz filed to run for the Supreme Court seat now held by Democrat...