Latest news with #KyleIngram
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Election board shift set for today. Stein says it may help GOP ‘steal' Supreme Court seat
Good morning and welcome to Under the Dome. I'm Caitlyn Yaede. Up first, a dispatch from Kyle Ingram, on the major shift in power over elections that is suddenly set to happen today. After the North Carolina Court of Appeals cleared the way for Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek to take election powers from Gov. Josh Stein, the Democratic governor warned that the takeover could have steep implications for Jefferson Griffin's ongoing attempt to overturn his loss in the 2024 state Supreme Court race. 'I fear that this decision is the latest step in the partisan effort to steal a seat on the Supreme Court,' he said. 'No emergency exists that can justify the Court of Appeals' decision to interject itself at this point. The only plausible explanation is to permit the Republican State Auditor to appoint a new State Board of Elections that will try to overturn the results of the Supreme Court race.' The appeals court's decision, unless the state Supreme Court blocks it before Thursday, will allow Boliek to immediately replace all five members of the State Board of Elections and flip the 3-2 majority in Republicans' favor for the first time since 2017. 'The actions of the current board majority placed partisanship and politics over performance,' the state Republican Party said in a statement. 'Under Auditor Boliek, North Carolinians will have confidence our votes are counted with accuracy, consistency, and integrity.' That shift could prove decisive in the ongoing battle over the 2024 election results if a court ultimately returns the decision to the board. Currently, the case rests with U.S. Chief District Judge Richard E. Myers, who has given Griffin and his opponent, Democratic incumbent Justice Allison Riggs, until Friday to submit final materials in the proceedings. — Kyle Ingram The Divine 9 — the nine historic Black sororities and fraternities — held their annual Legislative Day on Wednesday, spending the morning on Bicentennial Plaza across the street from the Legislative Building in downtown Raleigh. Speakers included Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, Democratic Attorney General Jeff Jackson, Sen. Kandie Smith and leaders from the respective Divine 9 organizations. Several speakers noted that the Divine 9 are well-represented in the General Assembly – including by Smith, Rep. Rodney Pierce, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, and keynote speaker Sen. Natalie Murdock, a member of Delta Sigma Theta. The lobbying day took place as lawmakers consider eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion policies in state agencies and schools. Pierce spoke to the crowd a few hours before the state House passed the bill banning DEI in government. 'There are a lot of misconceptions about what DEI is, but those of us out here know it is about giving just, fair, equal and equitable opportunities to anybody, regardless of where you live, regardless of how you look, regardless if you have disabilities or not, etc.,' Pierce said. 'And what I can promise you is that we will fight, we will advocate, we will speak up on behalf of those who will benefit and who have benefited from policies like that,' he said. I'll have more from the group's advocacy day in this Sunday's newsletter focused on the governor. — Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan An early 2026 contender to challenge Democratic Justice Anita Earls for her seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court has emerged. Rep. Sarah Stevens, a Surry County Republican and longtime member of the state House, announced her candidacy on social media Wednesday. 'I will be a conservative voice for justice and families on the Supreme Court,' she said in a statement. 'My experience as a family law attorney and a state legislator has prepared me to be a voice for those who cannot advocate for themselves.' Serving on the Supreme Court would be Stevens' first time as a judge, as it was for Earls when she was elected in 2018. Stevens currently chairs the House Election Law Committee and a House judiciary committee. She also previously served as House speaker pro tempore. She's the only Republican so far to announce a campaign to unseat Earls, who will seek her second eight-year term as a justice. In a statement, North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton railed against Stevens' candidacy. 'It's rich that a career politician who has been complicit with taking away voters' rights, gerrymandering election districts, and starving public education thinks she has the right experience to serve on the state's highest court,' she said. 'The people of North Carolina deserve a Justice who has dedicated their life to securing equal justice under the law for everyone, and that's Anita Earls.' Earls is the only member of the Supreme Court up for reelection in 2026, but her race could be pivotal in determining the court's future partisan majority. The Supreme Court currently has a 5-2 Republican majority, the fate of which is still up in the air as Republican Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin continues to challenge his narrow 2024 loss to Democratic incumbent Justice Allison Riggs. Should Riggs lose the fight to keep her seat, Earls would have to win her 2026 race in order for Democrats to have a chance to retake control of the court in 2028, when three Republican justices are up for reelection. — Kyle Ingram Reforming prior authorization in health insurance is a priority for both the House and Senate — but lawmakers in each chamber have different ideas about what that reform should look like. On Wednesday, the House passed its bill to reform prior authorization — the process insurers use to determine whether care is necessary, appropriate and covered. The bill would, among other things: Require insurers to meet set deadlines for medical necessity decisions or automatically approve the care. For urgent services, a decision must be made within 24 hours. Mandate that insurers report how often they require prior authorization, denial rates, decision times, and patient appeal outcomes. Noncompliance could result in fines of $5,000 per day. Authorize the North Carolina Medical Board to investigate improper denials, including the power to subpoena insurers or third-party reviewers. Sponsors include Reps. Tim Reeder, an emergency physician at East Carolina University, and Grant Campbell, a practicing physician. Both spoke Jan. 28 at a North Carolina Medical Society conference. Ahead of that event, Reeder and Rep. Donny Lambeth, a former hospital executive, told The News & Observer that a bill to restrict or ban prior authorization was in the works. The day after the conference, Senate leaders filed a bill tying new health insurance mandates to repealing existing ones, including those involving prior authorization. It passed the Senate but hasn't received a House hearing. In mid-March, the Senate introduced its own prior authorization reform bill, which passed within two weeks. It would require 24-hour decisions for urgent services, and also aims to improve billing transparency and reduce costs, as previously reported by The N&O. The House and Senate will need to reconcile their approaches before any reform becomes law. We've written multiple stories about the rift inside the Senate Democratic caucus this session, as the former minority leader, Sen. Dan Blue, has become the swing vote to watch in his chamber, voting with Republicans on four bills. Catch up on that story from Avi Bajpai and me. And on Tuesday, I wrote a follow-up story taking an inside look at the dynamics of Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch taking over the role this session. Republicans didn't allow her to have control over all of her caucus' office space, nor the same number of staff allotted to Blue when he left his leadership role. Sen. Bill Rabon, the powerful Rules Committee chair, told me on Tuesday that he has discretion over office space and praised Blue's chief of staff, who was kept on the General Assembly payroll. You can read more about the office drama in my latest story. — Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan Wayne Goodwin announced in February that he would be stepping down and helping Gov. Josh Stein find a successor to lead the Division of Motor Vehicles. The search is over, as Stein announced this week that Paul Tine will be the state's new DMV commissioner, starting May 6, Richard Stradling reports. Tine is a former state legislator and served two terms in the House as a Democrat before joining the Republican House Caucus as an unaffiliated lawmaker in 2015. His time in the General Assembly ended in 2016, and Tine now owns Midgett Insurance Agency in Dare County. 'There is no shortage of challenges facing our division,' Tine said in a statement. He pledged to reduce wait times and improve the DMV's website, among other goals for the division. Rep. Carla Cunningham of Charlotte has once again sided with Republicans on the topic of immigration, backing the latest bill out of the House bolstering an existing immigration law. The House voted 70-45, nearly along party lines, with the exception of Cunningham, on Tuesday to approve House Bill 318, which would add a new notification requirement to a law that requires local sheriffs to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. While other Mecklenburg County Democrats were strongly opposed to the measure, Cunningham spoke up against violent crime in the county, saying she expects sheriffs to fulfill their duty. The bill, introduced by House Speaker Destin Hall, stems from a conflict between Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden and federal immigration authorities. Avi Bajpai has more on the future of HB 318 and Cunningham's support of another GOP-led immigration bill last year. Donald van der Vaart, a former NC Department of Environmental Quality secretary who went on to serve as director of the NC Office of Administrative Hearings, will soon take on a new role in state government. Van der Vaart was appointed by Treasurer Brad Briner to join the NC Utilities Commission — an agency responsible for regulating investor-owned public utilities, like water or electric companies. He served as DEQ secretary under Gov. Pat McCrory, then later resigned from a different job within DEQ in November 2017 after an investigation into him was launched. The reason was unclear, although WFAE reported at the time that he had published an article that contradicted state policy, as well as taken on a role in a scientific advisory board under Donald Trump during his first presidential term. Attorney General Jeff Jackson has selected Nick Brod to succeed Ryan Park as North Carolina's solicitor general. Brod has served as deputy solicitor general since 2022 and will take on the new role today. He will replace Park, who was appointed solicitor general in 2020 by then-Attorney General Josh Stein. He was later nominated by former President Joe Biden to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, but his nomination drew backlash, notably from Sen. Thom Tillis. His nomination never went to a vote in the Senate. Republicans in the House are advancing a bill that would allow the state treasury to invest up to 5% of its funds' assets in digital currencies, or cryptocurrency. Introduced by House Speaker Destin Hall, the NC Digital Assets Investments Act passed the chamber Wednesday. While investing in currencies like Bitcoin has drawn skepticism, Gov. Josh Stein has come out in support of a bill like this one. Brian Gordon and Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi have the full story. Tuesday marked 100 days of Donald Trump's second term as president. The Charlotte Observer compiled 12 stories about how federal cuts have impacted North Carolinians since he took office. The House is considering a bill that would put new limitations on homeless camps in North Carolina, WRAL's Laura Leslie reports. House Bill 781, according to its primary sponsor, Rep. Brian Biggs, stems from growing populations of unhoused people across the state's cities. The measure would empower local governments to designate spaces for camping and sleeping only if indoor shelters are at capacity, among other new rules about how and when people can camp or sleep in public spaces. Tom Homan — appointed to serve as 'border czar' under President Donald Trump – called on Mecklenburg County to comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in an interview with WSOCTV's Joe Bruno this week. This call comes as county Sheriff Garry McFadden is at odds with federal immigration authorities over whether he should have to notify ICE before releasing people subject to detainers. Today's newsletter was by Caitlyn Yaede, Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan, Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi and Kyle Ingram. Check your inbox tomorrow for more #ncpol. Not a subscriber? Sign up on our website to receive Under the Dome in your inbox daily.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrats and Republicans reach agreement in NC voting lawsuit. No, not that one.
Good morning and welcome to Under the Dome. I'm Caitlyn Yaede. Since 2023, North Carolina Republicans have been embroiled in a lawsuit over proposed changes to same-day voter registration. Now, they've struck a deal with national Democrats to end the litigation. Kyle Ingram has the story: National Democrats and Republicans appear to have reached an agreement to resolve a longstanding lawsuit over North Carolina's voting laws. No, it's not the dispute over the state Supreme Court race, which persists over five months after the election and still threatens to discard thousands of ballots. More on that below. Rather, it's a case dealing with changes to same-day registration, a process which allows voters to cast their ballot on the same day they register to vote. In 2023, North Carolina Republicans passed a law restricting this practice as part of a massive elections omnibus bill called Senate Bill 747. National Democrats and advocacy groups sued over the bill, saying it could lead to votes being unfairly thrown out. On Tuesday, parties in that lawsuit announced that they had reached an agreement with Republicans to terminate the litigation in exchange for changes to the law's implementation that would give voters an opportunity to ensure their vote isn't cancelled. 'Today's agreement is a victory for North Carolina voters and for democracy,' Reyna Walters Morgan, a vice chair for the Democratic National Committee, said. 'We should be empowering Americans to participate in our elections, not (making) it harder — but at every turn Republicans have tried to suppress the voices of voters … Democrats have been fighting back, and today's victory is a powerful rejection of Republicans' attacks on voting rights.' The new law had said that voters who used same-day registration would be sent one notice to their listed address (previously, voters were sent two) confirming their registration. If that singular notice was returned as undeliverable, their registration would be cancelled and their vote would not be counted. The bill did not provide any process for these voters to be notified or challenge the decision to cancel their vote in a hearing. In January 2024, a federal judge blocked that change from taking effect, saying that voters would 'face a non-trivial risk of being erroneously disenfranchised' if the address verification failed due to governmental errors. He ordered the State Board of Elections to create a process for voters to fix any issues with their registration if their same-day registration notice was returned as undeliverable. Tuesday's agreement largely codifies the judge's 2024 order and the board's process for implementing it, with both parties agreeing that voters will be given a chance to remedy an address verification failure before their votes are cancelled. A representative for the NC GOP did not provide a comment on Tuesday's agreement. Though all parties stated that they agree to the proposed resolution, a judge will still have to approve it. Other portions of SB 747, which Democrats had sued over, would remain intact under the proposed consent agreement. Among them are a provision eliminating the three-day grace period for receiving absentee ballots and a section that empowers partisan poll observers to oversee voting. — Kyle Ingram A federal appeals court decision Tuesday means that challenged voters in the 2024 N.C. Supreme Court election won't need to validate their ballots — at least for now. In a 2-1 ruling, the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals temporarily blocked North Carolina election officials from beginning a massive ballot review period in Jefferson Griffin's ongoing election challenge. This 'cure' process would have required thousands of military and overseas voters to prove their eligibility or have their votes thrown out. Griffin, a Republican judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, lost his race for the state Supreme Court by 734 votes to Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs. For nearly six months, he has contested the results and attempted to discard over 65,000 ballots using untested legal theories. A spokesperson for Riggs' campaign said they are 'gratified' about the decision. 'We're confident that federal law prohibits these votes from being thrown out, and we're going to continue fighting to protect military and overseas voters,' said Dory MacMillan. Here's more on what happens now. — Kyle Ingram Meanwhile, a Republican-led voting group launched a new ad this past weekend targeting Griffin's challenge of thousands of military votes. 'They defend our right to vote, but now they could have their own right to vote stripped away,' the ad, released by RightCount Action, says. '... Don't let one defeated politician deny our heroes their right to vote.' Part of Griffin's case targets thousands of overseas military voters from heavily Democratic counties who he says did not provide photo ID with their absentee ballots. The bipartisan State Board of Elections approved an exemption to the ID requirement for these voters, but Griffin argues it violates the law. The North Carolina Supreme Court agreed, ruling earlier this month that the challenged overseas voters would be given 30 days to provide an ID or risk having their vote thrown out. RightCount's ad, which is airing on television and digital, comes alongside a statement from former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, who chairs the group's North Carolina branch. 'I wanted Jefferson Griffin to win because his philosophy more aligns with me,' he said. 'But in order to take the seat, you've got to earn the seat and win the seat. And in this case, he was defeated. I know how difficult it can be to lose a close election, but you abide by the rules. Especially when your efforts would result in silencing the voices of men and women in uniform.' — Kyle Ingram Duke University told its international students and those with green cards not to leave the U.S., amid Trump administration immigration restrictions, Brian Gordon reports. This warning, issued April 18, comes ahead of summer break, when many such students are expected to leave the country. Duke Visa Services cited a potential federal travel ban that would reportedly impact 43 countries, saying the ban could be imposed at any time. The message also noted heightened barriers to reentry posed by federal immigration authorities, such as additional screenings and questioning. President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 20, announcing the 'enhanced vetting' of U.S. visa holders. In the months since, student visas have been revoked across the country, including six international students at UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State University. At Duke, two such students and an alumnus also had their visas revoked. More than 3,000 graduate students at Duke are international students, as well as hundreds of undergraduates. Several Helene-stricken towns are still waiting for federal funds, seven months after the state's most expensive natural disaster. Congress appropriated $110 billion across all states impacted by Hurricane Helene. But now, communities like Canton — which lost its firehouse to flooding — say they have yet to see any money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Smoky Mountain News first reported on the issue and found that only nine of the 23 municipalities investigated had received any federal dollars toward hurricane relief. The Charlotte Observer's Briah Lumpkins has the full story. More than 220 higher education leaders, including several from North Carolina, signed onto a letter condemning the Trump administration's 'political interference' and 'overreach' on Tuesday. Distributed by the American Association of Colleges and Universities, the letter comes a day after Harvard University sued the Trump administration for freezing billions of dollars in higher education funding, The New York Times' Stephanie Saul reports. Duke University President Vincent Price is among those who signed the letter. Today's newsletter was by Caitlyn Yaede and Kyle Ingram. Check your inbox tomorrow for more #ncpol. Not a subscriber? Sign up on our website to receive Under the Dome in your inbox daily.
