north carolina

November 1, 2018 - Spending in this year's elections — including key races across the South — has smashed records. If it results in Democrats winning control of the U.S. House, they say their first task will be campaign finance reform legislation.

October 31, 2018 - When Southern state constitutions were rewritten during Reconstruction, the drafters created new limits on lawmakers and took the power to choose judges, governors, and local officials from politicians and gave it to the voters. But today, some state legislatures are chipping away at these checks and balances. 

October 26, 2018 - A new report highlights how Asian Americans, the fastest-growing racial demographic in North Carolina, are a growing political force in the state — and could swing key races in 2018.

October 26, 2018 - Voters in Southern states are weighing in on ballot measures to expand voting rights, raise the minimum wage, and protect the environment.

October 24, 2018 - Still contending with barriers put in place before the last midterm and presidential elections, voters in some states in the South face new restrictions on the franchise as they head to the polls this year.   

October 19, 2018 - A new ad from Republican Justice Barbara Jackson raises ethical questions due to its partisan tone and stoking of conservative voters' fears about immigrants. Jackson has also shared alt-right followers' tweets and raised First Amendment concerns by blocking a Twitter follower for pointing out that she was retweeting a racist account.

October 18, 2018 - As Republicans in Florida and West Virginia were about to replace most of the members of their supreme courts, the courts asserted their independence and blocked the partisan moves. But North Carolina's high court still faces the threat of a GOP takeover plan.

October 12, 2018 - A look at the South's major state and federal elections this year, and how a Democratic surge could shift regional politics for years to come.

October 11, 2018 - The same secret-money group that pushed the U.S Senate to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh is dominating spending in judicial elections in Arkansas and elsewhere in the South. In some states, justices are looking to be re-elected with the help of campaign cash from corporations and law firms that have business before the courts.

October 11, 2018 - After the Civil War, new state constitutions drafted with the help of freedmen required former Confederate states to establish their first public school systems. But 150 years later, education advocates are still fighting to ensure that Southern states live up to their mandate to offer every student a decent education.