Anderson Clayton is so gifted and we are fortunate to have her working for a better NC. Her observation that the GOP is a nationalized party, which means that they can't address local issues, is exactly right. The callous disregard of their base has forced even Marjorie Taylor Greene to go against her party. Dems should take note.
Thanks for excellent reporting and commentary, Thomas. One concern…I know that Chair Clayton is 27 and very relatable, but would you refer to a man in a similar position by his first name? Thanks for considering, from another older person who is sometimes guilty of speaking to younger people this way...
Anderson Clayton and all her co-workers should enjoy a well-earned 2025 set of victories. But now she and the NCDP need to gear up for the very important set of 2026 NC elections (up and down the ballot). I very much hope that the NCDP fulfills a commitment to having legitimate candidates in EVERY race, even if poor odds -- for example, in 2024 the NCDP sorely let down voters in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County in the two US Congress races in that area by not having any candidate in one of those races and apparently not supporting the other candidate. Even if the gerrymandering has made it tough, for all races, there should at least be SOMEONE legitimate put up who can engage with the Republican opponent and not give him/her a free ride. To do otherwise encourages the Republicans to totally be dismissive of all Democratic issues and go further and further to the right. Here's a big shout-out to the wonderful Kate Barr who did this last time in NC Senate 37
They try to get a Democrat to run in each election but it's not always that easy to find someone willing to run when there's almost no chance to win. However, there are a few great candidates working to try to flip some of the Republican congressional districts. Let's help them win.
Thomas I have 14 years experience as a poll worker in Durham and Wake counties and am familiar with the software used at check in during early voting. Voters should have checked their
eligibility before the last day of early voting. Both sides handled this badly
Mark, having been a poll greeter in Durham, there are so many people who get to the polls by the seat of their pants. Voters often do not have the luxury of knowing how to check their eligibility. We can't judge everyone by the information privilege those of us who get all wonky in the political weeds have. I don't think Chair Clayton handled this badly at all. Boliek should have put out a statement ASAP when this happened.
Regret the delay in responding. I serve on game day staff for Carolina football and basketball and there was a home football game today. After the Griffin/Riggs NC Supreme Court Justice race was settled the Trump Justice Department asked the SBE to make sure all registrations comply with the Help America Vote Act. You may recall that one of the three objections Griffin had was many older voter registrations did not have NCDL or Social Security numbers, This has been required ever since Bush/Gore. There was widespread publicity about this and the SBE sent letters to all who were affected to update their registrations. It's the voter's responsibility to make sure their registrations are correct. I served 12 years as a poll worker in Durham including service as a judge in precinct 53-1 There was ample time before the October primary and the November election for voters to update =. Derek Bowens who's the county's elections director is very competent.
Thanks, Mark. But I’m not sure you heard my point. Which is, having done poll greeting, voter protection and rides to the polls for folks in public housing, there are people out there who barely make it to vote, who are working two jobs, don’t have reliable transportation, don’t have internet, and should get gold stars just for showing up even with all those barriers. I also did ballot curing after the November election, as well as registration repair for the Griffin list since then. And as you know, there was a time when the NCBOE did not require SS# or Drivers License number on VR forms. So, “ample time” is not the only issue. The goalposts keep changing, which is the goal of voter suppression. (Or maybe it should be the height of the high jump, but you get my point!).
Contact Derek Bowens Elections Director in Durham County. Very competent. I am certain he can work with you or your organization to get issues resolved. I served 12 years in Durham . Fortunately all 58 precincts have enough laptops to use electronic poll books both for early voting and Election Day unlike Wake County which has 218 precincts and uses poll books on election day
I think it's important to clarify that the NC Voter Lookup tool wasn't down - what it was doing was showing that it had no record of specific voters. I use the NC Voter Lookup tool all the time so when I searched for my name to get a link to our ballot and it didn't show me as a registered voter, I panicked. Tried all my family members, the same. Given the current climate, I assumed something nefarious. After checking in with other folks, it became clear that it wasn't working, but the website was accessible and there was no indication that it was down - but it was showing incorrect information about voters.
Anderson Clayton is so gifted and we are fortunate to have her working for a better NC. Her observation that the GOP is a nationalized party, which means that they can't address local issues, is exactly right. The callous disregard of their base has forced even Marjorie Taylor Greene to go against her party. Dems should take note.
Thanks for excellent reporting and commentary, Thomas. One concern…I know that Chair Clayton is 27 and very relatable, but would you refer to a man in a similar position by his first name? Thanks for considering, from another older person who is sometimes guilty of speaking to younger people this way...
If I knew him as well as I know Anderson, yes—unless I always called him by his last name.
Anderson Clayton and all her co-workers should enjoy a well-earned 2025 set of victories. But now she and the NCDP need to gear up for the very important set of 2026 NC elections (up and down the ballot). I very much hope that the NCDP fulfills a commitment to having legitimate candidates in EVERY race, even if poor odds -- for example, in 2024 the NCDP sorely let down voters in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County in the two US Congress races in that area by not having any candidate in one of those races and apparently not supporting the other candidate. Even if the gerrymandering has made it tough, for all races, there should at least be SOMEONE legitimate put up who can engage with the Republican opponent and not give him/her a free ride. To do otherwise encourages the Republicans to totally be dismissive of all Democratic issues and go further and further to the right. Here's a big shout-out to the wonderful Kate Barr who did this last time in NC Senate 37
They try to get a Democrat to run in each election but it's not always that easy to find someone willing to run when there's almost no chance to win. However, there are a few great candidates working to try to flip some of the Republican congressional districts. Let's help them win.
Thomas I have 14 years experience as a poll worker in Durham and Wake counties and am familiar with the software used at check in during early voting. Voters should have checked their
eligibility before the last day of early voting. Both sides handled this badly
Bothsides-ism is dead.
Mark, having been a poll greeter in Durham, there are so many people who get to the polls by the seat of their pants. Voters often do not have the luxury of knowing how to check their eligibility. We can't judge everyone by the information privilege those of us who get all wonky in the political weeds have. I don't think Chair Clayton handled this badly at all. Boliek should have put out a statement ASAP when this happened.
Regret the delay in responding. I serve on game day staff for Carolina football and basketball and there was a home football game today. After the Griffin/Riggs NC Supreme Court Justice race was settled the Trump Justice Department asked the SBE to make sure all registrations comply with the Help America Vote Act. You may recall that one of the three objections Griffin had was many older voter registrations did not have NCDL or Social Security numbers, This has been required ever since Bush/Gore. There was widespread publicity about this and the SBE sent letters to all who were affected to update their registrations. It's the voter's responsibility to make sure their registrations are correct. I served 12 years as a poll worker in Durham including service as a judge in precinct 53-1 There was ample time before the October primary and the November election for voters to update =. Derek Bowens who's the county's elections director is very competent.
Thanks, Mark. But I’m not sure you heard my point. Which is, having done poll greeting, voter protection and rides to the polls for folks in public housing, there are people out there who barely make it to vote, who are working two jobs, don’t have reliable transportation, don’t have internet, and should get gold stars just for showing up even with all those barriers. I also did ballot curing after the November election, as well as registration repair for the Griffin list since then. And as you know, there was a time when the NCBOE did not require SS# or Drivers License number on VR forms. So, “ample time” is not the only issue. The goalposts keep changing, which is the goal of voter suppression. (Or maybe it should be the height of the high jump, but you get my point!).
Contact Derek Bowens Elections Director in Durham County. Very competent. I am certain he can work with you or your organization to get issues resolved. I served 12 years in Durham . Fortunately all 58 precincts have enough laptops to use electronic poll books both for early voting and Election Day unlike Wake County which has 218 precincts and uses poll books on election day
Incompetent. NC can do better. Anderson Clayton is a blessing.
I think it's important to clarify that the NC Voter Lookup tool wasn't down - what it was doing was showing that it had no record of specific voters. I use the NC Voter Lookup tool all the time so when I searched for my name to get a link to our ballot and it didn't show me as a registered voter, I panicked. Tried all my family members, the same. Given the current climate, I assumed something nefarious. After checking in with other folks, it became clear that it wasn't working, but the website was accessible and there was no indication that it was down - but it was showing incorrect information about voters.
And Boliek should have released a statement pronto when this was discovered.
I look forward to Andersen leading the charge that ousts Republicans from the State Legislature and return fairness to North Carolina lawmaking.