Politics

September 16, 2016 - Voting rights advocates are calling North Carolina counties' early voting plans finalized last week an "overall victory." A look at why early voting is so important to democracy.

September 9, 2016 - Conservative political operatives who launched a widely condemned attack on a sitting North Carolina Supreme Court justice two years ago have returned to political spending, channeling nearly half a million dollars into ads backing state Senate Republicans.

September 9, 2016 - A Facing South analysis of North Carolina's county commissions finds that there are no Latino or Asian-American commissioners in the entire state, while African-American representation lags in many counties.

September 8, 2016 - While Virginia's Democratic governor battles Republican lawmakers over restoring voting rights for ex-felons who've completed their sentences, almost 200,000 of the state's residents — almost half of them African-American — remain disenfranchised, mostly for nonviolent crimes.

September 7, 2016 - Kelcy Warren chairs Energy Transfer Equity, the Dallas company behind the petro pipeline being fought by Indian tribes who say it's desecrating sacred land in North Dakota and putting water supplies at risk. Warren is a major contributor to Republican political causes, but will his influence help his project succeed?

September 2, 2016 - North Carolina has emerged as 2016's most interesting battleground state, with Democrats hoping Clinton's growing campaign operations can help them win key down-ballot races, shaking up a state where Republicans have dominated in recent years.

September 2, 2016 - A Rolling Stone investigation into the Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck program documented flawed methods that put eligible citizens — disproportionately African-American, Latino and Asian-American — at risk of being blocked from voting. Why are so many states still using it when there's a better alternative?