Politics
May 20, 2021 -
Following an attempt to overturn the 2020 election results by far-right extremists, Republican lawmakers have introduced measures in Southern states and elsewhere across the country that could open the door to partisan election interference and vote manipulation.
May 13, 2021 -
Measures under consideration in states including several in the South are being promoted as protecting the privacy of people who donate to nonprofits. But because the bills don't distinguish between charitable nonprofits and those that engage in partisan politics, they could make it harder to know who's trying to influence elections.
May 7, 2021 -
While Southern states didn't grow as fast as many expected, more than half of U.S. population gains in the 2020 census were in the South, boosting the region's clout.
April 29, 2021 -
Three Democratic members of the evenly divided U.S. Senate have so far refused to sign on to the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, legislation endorsed by President Biden that would provide stronger protections for workers trying to form a union. Among the naysayers is Mark Warner of Virginia, the Senate's second-richest member and a venture capitalist with a nine-figure estimated net worth.
April 28, 2021 -
Republican-controlled legislatures are restructuring the judicial branches in three Southern states in ways that could benefit the GOP and threaten judicial diversity. By contrast, legislatures in several other states in the region could expand appellate courts in ways that foster greater diversity on the bench.
April 26, 2021 -
A bill to raise North Carolina's minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour has been reintroduced in the state legislature. Among those calling for its passage are certified nursing assistants including Cummie Davis of Chapel Hill, who writes about her experience trying to survive on poverty-level pay while doing an essential job.
April 23, 2021 -
The three Republican co-chairs of the North Carolina Senate elections committee have introduced legislation to restrict absentee voting by mail following a presidential election in which it was used heavily by Democratic voters. Duke Energy is among the top contributors to all three sponsors — one of whom is a former company executive.
