North Carolina is now the only state in the nation that gives its State Auditor the power to appoint members of the State Board of Elections. No other state assigns election‑board appointment authority to an auditor, making North Carolina’s 2024 law a genuine national outlier. Because the auditor is not elected by voters. This serves the interests of the governing party rather than the people — a shift that moves the state further away from democratic accountability.
I hope enough republicans are defeated in General Assembly elections this Fall to send a clear message; restore the power of appointment for the NC Board of Elections to the Governor. This served NC well for 101 years before Phil Berger and Dallas Woodhouse became involved
Thomas - Thanks for the reminder of how deeply involved our Republican friends have been in drawing maps ... and only really for the past 15ish years. But then they did learn from prior legislatures - even if that was pre-PC days and most our our elected folk then were not very "numeric" :-) Today there are wonderfully complex computer programs (with their "keepers") which can provide demographically "interesting" maps in real time (and real bills-for-service":-). For anyone somewhat interested in redistricting, and personally comfortable with inflicting some mental self-abuse, take a look at https://web.stevenson.edu/mbranson/m4tp/version1/gerrymandering-math-topic-compactness.html for an introduction to the application of COMPACTNESS --- in addition to "one person, one vote" and "contiguity" to the process of redistricting. Buried among our statutes is the *suggestion* of using compactness, but just a suggestion :-)
I think it is ironic how Republicans try to portray themselves as being for “ election integrity “ when they consistently find new ways to disenfranchise voters they dont like.
The damage republicans have managed to do since taking over the reins of power in our state is almost incalculable. Their surgical gerrymandering, hollowing out the Governor and the AG’s ability to govern effectively and turning our high court into partisan cat fights are just on the the tip of the iceberg. I only hope the people of NC can finally wake up and pull us out of this down slide we’ve been in for the last 16 years.
Republicans in NC deal by the 'good old boy' policy of government. Rules are expendable, consolidation of power primary. It's going to take a lot of intelligent and considerate voters to overcome them. Why do you think they have been ransacking the schools for decades?
I think a lot of folks are watching, but if they are like me...working to elect more supporters of democracy, i.e. Democrats, and attend rallies and make phone calls...we do not know what else to do!
Well, I'm noticing. Of course, I'm only one vote but it will always be cast in favor of a fair election process and elections board in NC.
After Berger is gone, the state needs to focus on Destin Hall and Tim Moore. They need to be the next seats to fall!
North Carolina is now the only state in the nation that gives its State Auditor the power to appoint members of the State Board of Elections. No other state assigns election‑board appointment authority to an auditor, making North Carolina’s 2024 law a genuine national outlier. Because the auditor is not elected by voters. This serves the interests of the governing party rather than the people — a shift that moves the state further away from democratic accountability.
I hope enough republicans are defeated in General Assembly elections this Fall to send a clear message; restore the power of appointment for the NC Board of Elections to the Governor. This served NC well for 101 years before Phil Berger and Dallas Woodhouse became involved
Thomas - Thanks for the reminder of how deeply involved our Republican friends have been in drawing maps ... and only really for the past 15ish years. But then they did learn from prior legislatures - even if that was pre-PC days and most our our elected folk then were not very "numeric" :-) Today there are wonderfully complex computer programs (with their "keepers") which can provide demographically "interesting" maps in real time (and real bills-for-service":-). For anyone somewhat interested in redistricting, and personally comfortable with inflicting some mental self-abuse, take a look at https://web.stevenson.edu/mbranson/m4tp/version1/gerrymandering-math-topic-compactness.html for an introduction to the application of COMPACTNESS --- in addition to "one person, one vote" and "contiguity" to the process of redistricting. Buried among our statutes is the *suggestion* of using compactness, but just a suggestion :-)
I think it is ironic how Republicans try to portray themselves as being for “ election integrity “ when they consistently find new ways to disenfranchise voters they dont like.
The damage republicans have managed to do since taking over the reins of power in our state is almost incalculable. Their surgical gerrymandering, hollowing out the Governor and the AG’s ability to govern effectively and turning our high court into partisan cat fights are just on the the tip of the iceberg. I only hope the people of NC can finally wake up and pull us out of this down slide we’ve been in for the last 16 years.
This. Well said. The more light that shines on the anti-democratic deeds of the NCGOP, the more likely they are to be defeated.
Republicans in NC deal by the 'good old boy' policy of government. Rules are expendable, consolidation of power primary. It's going to take a lot of intelligent and considerate voters to overcome them. Why do you think they have been ransacking the schools for decades?
I think a lot of folks are watching, but if they are like me...working to elect more supporters of democracy, i.e. Democrats, and attend rallies and make phone calls...we do not know what else to do!