Neighbors on Call’s NC Policy Update for 8/08/22

Fair Representation

• On Friday a federal judge ruled that two Green Party candidates, including one for U.S. Senate, must be listed on North Carolina ballots in November. The NC State Board of Elections had voted unanimously Monday to certify the Green Party in response to a review from county elections boards that found the party had collected enough valid signatures to appear on the ballot; however, because the deadline for adding candidates to state ballots passed earlier in the summer, they could not add the candidates to the ballot without a judge’s ruling. The same judge, James C. Dever III, issued a ruling earlier in the week that required the NCSBE and the Green Party to file a consent order to resolve their dispute; in the consent order, the NCSBE wrote that they were not opposed to the judge’s extending the filing deadline given the vote to certify the party. The fraud investigation into signatures collected by the Green Party continues, however, and the North Carolina Democratic Party is also continuing to litigate the issue in state court.

Voting Rights

• On Tuesday a group of unaffiliated North Carolina voters sued the state over a law requiring that NC State Board of Elections members be registered Democrats or Republicans. The four voters bringing the federal suit are represented by Common Cause North Carolina, a voter advocacy organization. In the suit, they allege that their First Amendment rights of free speech and free association and their 14th Amendment right to equal protection are violated by the law.

Neighbors on Call’s NC Policy Update for 8/01/22

Voting Rights

• On Friday a Court of Appeals decision from earlier this year went into effect, allowing North Carolinians with felony convictions who are on parole, probation, or another form of state supervision to register to vote. The voting rights of these groups are still under litigation, but for now felony disenfranchisement has ended for all but people who are currently serving prison sentences for felonies in North Carolina, and many state residents with a felony conviction who have previously been barred from voting will be able to vote in November’s elections.

Reproductive Rights

• Republican leaders in the NC General Assembly asked a federal court to lift an injunction blocking the state’s 20-week abortion ban. Federal Judge William Osteen Jr. had blocked enforcement of the law in 2019, but Republicans argue that given the Supreme Court’s recent overturning of Roe v. Wade, the law should be reinstated. Last week North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein had said that he would not ask the court to lift the injunction. The law bans abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest.

Criminal Justice

• On Monday a federal judge sided with NC Attorney General Josh Stein in a suit brought by his campaign claiming that an NC law banning the publication of “derogatory” falsehoods about politicians is unconstitutional. Stein’s campaign is under criminal investigation for potentially violating the law in a 2020 campaign ad criticizing his Republican opponent for a backlog of rape kits in his home county, but as long as the temporary restraining order issued by the judge on Monday stands, the Wake County District Attorney’s office will not be able to bring charges against Stein under the law.

Neighbors on Call’s NC Policy Update for 7/25/22

Voting Rights

• On July 11 a federal judge blocked North Carolina laws that would have limited who can help request, fill out, and return absentee ballots for people with disabilities. U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle said that the restrictions imposed by the law conflict with the federal Voting Rights Act, which allows people with disabilities to choose who assists them in voting. As a result of the ruling, people with disabilities in North Carolina may now choose anyone they like to assist them with their absentee ballots, not only a close relative or legal guardian.

Economic and Housing Policy

• This week the leaders of the NCGA established a Subcommittee on Hurricane Response and Recovery to investigate the response of the NC Office of Recovery and Resiliency (known as ReBuild NC) to Hurricane Matthew. ReBuild NC’s slow response to the disaster has left many affected by the hurricane without adequate housing, as reported by NC Policy Watch. The committee’s first meeting has not yet been announced.

Reproductive Rights

• The new NC state budget includes over $3 million for crisis pregnancy centers, places that counsel pregnant people against abortion and often provide misleading information about abortion. These funds are allocated to 11 crisis pregnancy centers across the state. Though he signed the budget, Governor Cooper said he was concerned about such funding.

• On Thursday NC Attorney General Josh Stein said he won’t move to enforce North Carolina’s 20-week abortion ban. The ban, passed by the NCGA decades ago, was previously not enforced due to a federal court injunction. Given the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the law was expected to go into effect, but Stein said he would not follow the procedure that would likely remove the injunction. Republicans in the state legislature accused Stein of disregarding his oath of office and pledged to do everything they could to make sure the law goes into effect.

Criminal Justice

• The NC Supreme Court recently decided a pair of cases governing de facto life sentences for juveniles, ruling that juveniles sentenced to consecutive life sentences with parole must be given the real possibility of parole. The decisions in State v. Kelliher and State v. Conner, which set a 40-year cap on the time a juvenile can be required to serve before the possibility of parole, align with a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision that mandatory life imprisonment for a juvenile is unconstitutional. Both cases were decided 4-3, with the 4 Democratic justices joining the majority opinion and the 3 Republican justices dissenting.