Latest news with #NorthCarolinaDemocraticParty
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tensions rise, NC protests grow against ICE activity
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Community organizers plan to hold additional anti-Trump Administration demonstrations across North Carolina, partly in response to immigration raids and . Several advocacy organizations in Charlotte met Monday in Uptown to rally against ICE raids. Dozens of attendees from the airport workers' union 32BJ SEIU, Housing Justice Coalition CLT, and other groups called for the release of David Huerta from federal detention. Huerta, a California labor leader, was arrested while protesting outside a business where ICE agents were investigating. He was released from custody on a $50,000 bond and now faces charges of Rallies are scheduled in Charlotte, Monroe, Concord, Waxhaw and Rock Hill for Saturday, June 14 in connection with the national . The event was planned in early May, before the activity in Los Angeles, . The organization noted working with a coalition of partners to declare Flag Day a 'Nationwide Day of Defiance.' The date also lines up with the U.S. Army's celebration of its 250th year, and President Donald Trump's 79th birthday. Organizers in Charlotte said the interest in the event has increased in the past several weeks, prompting them to move the rally to They plan to have a series of speakers and a 1.4-mile march. Groups in Raleigh intend to gather outside the Capitol building on Tuesday as lawmakers discuss legislation to strengthen enforcement efforts. would compel local law enforcement agents to verify any detainee's immigration status and notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents if the person is not a documented citizen. NC Republicans push forward two immigration enforcement bills Advocates with the North Carolina Democratic Party told Queen City News' reporting partner in Raleigh that they're calling for an end to ICE raids nationwide. 'It's no longer deportation, right? That is a system,' said Anderson Clayton, chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party. 'What we're seeing right now is people being kidnapped, honestly, across the country, people being taken from their homes, their communities, people being racially targeted and profiled across the country right now.' U.S. Representative Alma Adams (NC-12) expressed similar sentiments in a statement Monday, denouncing the president's decision to deploy National Guardsmen to Los Angeles. 'This decision was fueled by the president's ego, not by what was best for the people of Los Angeles, and we cannot let him continue to weaponize the executive branch against our communities,' Adams said. 'Republicans in Congress should join Democrats in standing up for our citizens and reining in the executive overreach from the White House.' , along with U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, to commemorate the 250th Army anniversary. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrats, Republicans weigh in on Judge Griffin conceding
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The final uncertified race in the country from the November Election is over. North Carolina Republican Judge Jefferson Griffin is conceding his race for a Supreme Court seat against incumbent Democratic Associate Justice Allison Riggs after a legal battle to overturn the election. Democrats say the six month back and forth should've never happened. 'I think everyone across North Carolina, regardless of what political party you're a part of, should be happy today,' Anderson Clayton, Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, said. In a statement provided by his campaign, Judge Griffin says in part: 'While I do not fully agree with the District Court's analysis, I respect the court's holding—just as I have respected every judicial tribunal that has heard this case. I will not appeal the court's decision.' Democrats nationwide are happy to see an end to the months-long legal battle. In a statement, Ken Martin, Chair of the Democratic National Committee, said in part: 'This is a righteous victory for democracy and a clear defeat of political gamesmanship. For 200 days, Republicans in North Carolina sought to overturn the will of the people, hijack a state Supreme Court seat, and systematically undermine basic faith in our elections.' North Carolina Democrats are happy with the end result, but worry about election integrity moving forward. 'Republicans have already set a precedent with this, and we understand that now, looking across the country, people can say, 'Okay, we can take up to six months to deny an election, to potentially delay results like that,'' Clayton said. North Carolina GOP leaders denied our requests for an interview but in a statement say in part: 'Judge Griffin deserves the appreciation of every North Carolinian for highlighting the appalling mismanagement, inaccurate data, and partisan behavior from the prior State Board of Elections — failures affirmed by multiple courts, including the highest court in our State.' In her statement, Justice Riggs says in part: 'It's been my honor to lead this fight—even though it should never have happened.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to
Axios
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
With newfound authority, NC's GOP auditor makes election board appointments
In a move that will transform how North Carolina conducts its elections, Republican state auditor Dave Boliek appointed three GOP members to the state's board of elections Thursday, less than 24 hours after a court ruled he had the power to do so. Why it matters: Democratic Gov. Josh Stein has been fighting GOP state legislative leaders in court for months to block a new law that strips elections board appointment powers from the governor and grants them instead to the state auditor. The law, upheld by an unnamed three-judge North Carolina Court of Appeals panel Wednesday, has the immediate impact of flipping the elections board from majority Democrat to majority Republican for the first time in nearly a decade. Boliek, who was elected state auditor in November, is the first Republican to hold the office since 2009. Driving the news: Boliek appointed three Republicans nominated by the state GOP to the five-member board Thursday. A maximum of three members of each party are allowed on the board, meaning whichever party holds the office that's tasked with appointing members to the board will have a majority. The North Carolina Democratic Party has also presented a list of nominees to Boliek, of which he will pick two. The big picture: Boliek's move Thursday is the latest show of force from North Carolina Republicans, who have consolidated power in the state in recent years. In addition to holding a majority in the state legislature, Republicans make up a majority on the North Carolina Court of Appeals (which has issued more than one ruling in the GOP's favor in recent weeks), the state Supreme Court and, now, the state's board of elections. Catch up quick: Just a few weeks after Stein won the election in November, the Republican-controlled legislature moved in a lame duck session to strip power from the governor. The bill's passage into law threatened to further weaken the gubernatorial power of North Carolina's governor — which is already one of the weakest of any governor in the country. Stein, along with former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who was still in office when the bill became law over his objections, quickly filed a lawsuit to block the legislation. Stein asked the state Supreme Court to block Wednesday's appeals court ruling from going into effect, per The News & Observer, but the state's highest court did not rule in time.
Washington Post
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
GOP takes over N.C. elections board, boosting chances of reversing high court race
Republicans took over North Carolina's elections board Thursday, boosting their chances of reversing the results of a November election and expanding their majority on the state Supreme Court. The swing state has been riven by political and legal fights since last fall, when Republicans won the state's presidential electoral votes but lost the races for governor, attorney general and a seat on the state's high court. Just after the election, Republicans who control the state legislature passed a law shifting the power to appoint elections board members from the Democratic governor to the Republican state auditor. Gov. Josh Stein sued over the change, and a panel of judges last week blocked the measure. But on Wednesday, an appeals court lifted the lower court's decision while it considers the case. That gave Auditor Dave Boliek the chance to make appointments, and he placed three Republicans on the five-member board on Thursday. He is slated to appoint Democrats to the two remaining seats later. 'We need full confidence in our elections, and I'd like to thank these individuals for their willingness to serve,' Boliek said in a statement. Anderson Clayton, the chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, sent a letter to Boliek calling the changes to how the board is appointed 'an abuse of power and a disservice to the people of North Carolina.' The fight over the board comes amid a broader battle over the makeup of the state Supreme Court, where Republicans have a 5-2 majority. In November, Justice Allison Riggs (D) held onto her seat by a 734-vote margin. Her challenger, state appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin (R), sued, arguing some votes should be thrown out. This month, the state Supreme Court gave Griffin a partial victory and raised the prospect that thousands of votes would be thrown out. (Riggs did not participate in the decision because the case affects her.) The case is ongoing, with state and federal courts reviewing whether votes should be discounted, and if so, how many. The elections board's role in that litigation is important. Attorneys for the board recently told a judge they interpreted the state Supreme Court's ruling to affect about 1,700 voters and planned to contact them to determine which votes should be counted. Griffin argues that thousands more ballots are affected by the ruling. Now that the board has a Republican majority, it could adopt a view more like Griffin's to try to convince the courts that more ballots should be reviewed. The more ballots that are put into doubt, the better Griffin's chance is of overcoming Riggs's narrow victory. Most of the ballots in dispute were cast by overseas and military voters who were never asked to provide copies of their IDs. If the state Supreme Court order holds, those voters will have 30 days to submit copies of their IDs, and those who don't will have their votes discounted. The legal fight over the state Supreme Court seat could continue for months — as could the dispute over which party controls the elections board.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NC high court blocks ruling on undecided race
North Carolina's Supreme Court on Monday temporarily blocked a ruling on an undecided court race. In a Monday order, the Tar Heel State's highest court temporarily stayed a previous ruling from a panel of the state appeals court to carry out a recount and verification of 60,000 contested ballots in a North Carolina state Supreme Court race. Attorneys for Democratic Justice Allison Riggs, already on the North Carolina Supreme Court, filed a motion Sunday asking for a temporary stay on the appeals court's order being carried out. Riggs is being challenged for her seat by Republican state Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin, who has pushed against the validity of some ballots in the race for multiple reasons. 'The monumental decision of the Court of Appeals in this case raises multiple issues of first impression and will have implications for North Carolinians' fundamental right to vote in this election and for decades to come,' Riggs's attorneys said in the Sunday motion. In multiple past recounts, Riggs has come out ahead, but her opponent has said that the 60,000 ballots are not valid because they lack information such as driver's license or Social Security numbers. 'The Supreme Court issued a stay in Jefferson Griffin v. the Board of Elections. Last week the Court of Appeals ruled that voters would have to re-prove their voter registration in order for their vote to be counted,' the North Carolina Democratic Party posted Monday on the social platform X. 'Now, that decision will not go into effect until after the Supreme Court hears the case – and it may not go into effect at all until after the Supreme Court and subsequent appeals in federal court are finished,' the post continued. 'The North Carolina Democratic Party is standing squarely behind Justice Riggs—and behind every single voter whose rights are under attack. We will continue fighting in court and in every community across the state to defend our democracy.' In his own Monday post on X, North Carolina Republican Party Chair Jason Simmons said, 'Judge Griffin's protests have been vindicated and the people of our state deserve to see this important election finalized with every legal vote counted.' The Hill has reached out to an attorney for Griffin for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
