Neighbors on Call’s NC Policy Update for 10/23/23

Fair Representation

• Plans for new NC congressional districts would elect more Republicans to Congress: Proposals could also give the GOP a chance to expand its legislative supermajorities – Lynn Bonner, NC Newsline

• New NC election maps expected to pass [this] week over objections from Democrats: Newly proposed election maps are expected to tilt North Carolina's congressional delegation to the right and maintain GOP majorities in state legislative chambers. Republican lawmakers, who drew the maps in secret, went over them in public for the first time Thursday. – Travis Fain and Will Doran, WRAL News

Voting Rights

• Gov. Cooper sues over a new law that strips governors of state elections board appointments – Lynn Bonner, NC Newsline

• Cooper sues over new GOP-backed election rules he says will 'undermine fair elections' in NC: North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper sued Republican legislative leaders Tuesday, saying recent changes in elections law are unconstitutional. It's the latest in a string of lawsuits over the new rules, including another filed Tuesday by voter rights groups. – Travis Fain and Will Doran, WRAL News

• Third federal lawsuit filed over North Carolina’s new voting law – Lynn Bonner, NC Newsline

• Voter ID rollout going smoothly so far, NC elections officials say: North Carolina elections director Karen Brinson Bell says the state's new photo ID requirement for voting didn't cause problems in municipal elections in September and October. But the real test will be next year's presidential elections. – Laura Leslie, WRAL News

• No Labels, no primary vote. NC's election rules will shut voters out of the March primaries if they're not careful: Only people registered with a particular political party, or as unaffiliated, can vote in that party's primary in North Carolina, and voters with the state's newest political party won't have a primary. – Travis Fain, WRAL News

Education Policy

• NC is revising its sex education standards. LGBTQ+ advocates want them to be more inclusive: State leaders aren't planning to make fundamental changes as they revise sex ed standards. But some reproductive health education experts and LGBTQ+ advocates see room for more inclusiveness at a time when lawmakers are limiting discussion or acknowledgment of sexual orientation and gender in classrooms. – Emily Walkenhorst, WRAL News

Economic Policy

• US Supreme Court leaves in place a court victory for PETA over North Carolina's ag-gag law: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected North Carolina's appeal in a dispute with animal rights groups over a law aimed at preventing undercover employees at farms and other workplaces from taking documents or recording video. – AP, WRAL News

Health Care Policy

• NC lawmakers give authority over the state’s mental health care system to DHHS secretary and hope for better outcomes: Advocates and lawmakers have long complained about the behavioral health services available under the current organizations that manage the state’s spending for mental health. With the policy changes in the latest state budget, lawmakers hope to see improvements to how those services are delivered to patients. – Taylor Knopf, NC Health News