nc general assembly
September 13, 2018 -
In 1868, Southern states held constitutional conventions in which recently freed black men helped eliminate vestiges of the Confederacy and draft progressive blueprints for state government. While some of the provisions survived Jim Crow, conservative politicians today are chipping away at Reconstruction's radical legacy.
August 29, 2018 -
This week's federal ruling that North Carolina's congressional maps are unconstitutionally designed for GOP advantage adds to the uncertainty over the looming election. But it also offers a chance for the state's voters to cast their ballots in a fair contest for the first time in years — as long as Trump's Supreme Court nominee doesn't get in the way.
August 14, 2018 -
Several lawsuits seek to keep proposed state constitutional amendments off the ballot this November — and one filed by the state NAACP and Clean Air Carolina seeks to have the racially gerrymandered legislature declared illegitimate and blocked from changing the blueprint of state government.
August 2, 2018 -
State supreme court seats across the South are up for grabs this year, and contributions are pouring into partisan races. What does the research tell us about the effects of big-money politics on the judiciary?
July 30, 2018 -
North Carolina lawmakers recently called a special session to make major changes to election ballots. The changes aim to influence the outcome of the state Supreme Court election and referenda on constitutional amendments that would give the legislature more power.
July 20, 2018 -
With President Trump nominating a judge with a record of hostility to voting rights to the U.S. Supreme Court, state courts and constitutions are likely to play an increasingly critical role in protecting those rights — but those institutions are under political assault by conservatives.
June 29, 2018 -
In the final days of its 2018 session, the General Assembly approved a series of constitutional amendments for the November ballot that if passed would restrict voting and expand the legislature's power over the courts and the executive branch.