Neighbors on Call’s NC Policy Update for 09/09/24

Governance

• On Friday Republican leaders in the NCGA announced that they had reached an agreement on a “mini-budget” to address unresolved priorities from the short session that ended in June. The proposed addition to the budget would allocate $5 billion over the next decade to North Carolina’s private school voucher program, opening up vouchers to many newly eligible wealthier families that have been on the waiting list this year. In addition, the “mini-budget” bill would require sheriffs to cooperate with ICE and provide additional funding for the state Medicaid program, rural broadband, and enrollment increases in public schools and community colleges.

Voting Rights 

• 9/10/24 UPDATE: NC Supreme Court orders RFK Jr.’s name removed, counties to reprint millions of ballots  —Lynn Bonner, NC Newsline

• On Friday, 9/6/24, the day that absentee ballots were scheduled to be sent out based on state law, a state Appeals Court panel ruled that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name must be removed from ballots, overturning a decision issued the previous day by Wake County Superior Court Judge Rebecca Holt.  If the Appeals Court decision stands, ballots will need to be reprinted, causing a significant delay past the required date and costing millions of dollars. The State Board of Elections has asked the NC Supreme Court to overturn the Appeals Court ruling and instructed county elections boards to retain all ballots that have already been printed in case the court decides in their favor.