The national Democratic Party’s selection of Charlotte for its 2012 Convention means President Obama has no intention of conceding the Southern states he won in 2008 (Virginia, Florida, North Carolina). The NC Republican Party quickly accepted the challenge with a YouTube video aimed at raising spirits (and some money) to make sure Obama and the rest of the Democratic ticket loses in 2012. The Center for Responsive Politics had its own rapid response – a fascinating assessment of Obama’s fundraising inside Charlotte and the rest of North Carolina, compared to funds raised by his past and future opponents. No doubt about it: North Carolina will be ground zero for intensive political warfare in 2012, including an unprecedented clash of grassroots activists and historic levels of political spending.
Get Out the Vote Category
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Friday, January 7, 2011
Friday, January 7th, 2011
A new edition of Democracy NC’s brochure featuring quotes and photographs of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is now available. It includes information about the upcoming H K on J assembly in Raleigh, the redistricting process affecting local and state political districts, the controversial proposal to require a photo ID for voting, and Dr. King’s challenge to keep advocating for positive change. It’s ideal for distributing at King Day and Black History Month events and to local churches and community groups in your area. The pocket-size brochures are provided free. (The brochure folds in half, so part that you view is upside down!) If you want a supply, please send an email with your STREET address for UPS shipment, the quantity you desire, and a phone number in case there is a problem with delivery. Send the info to sprc@mindspring.com.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Tuesday, December 7th, 2010
Following up yesterday’s post about the NC Republican’s quest to ban certain citizens from voting, here’s a marvelous account from the Institute for Southern Studies that unpacks the disturbing parallels between the Democrats’ anti-black, anti-poor Jim Crow laws of the early 20th Century and the Republicans’ voter suppression campaign of the early 21st Century. Highly recommended reading! (You may want to subscribe to the ISS’s Facing South blog while you’re on the site. Democracy NC is a spin off of a project that spun off from ISS about 15 years ago.)
Friday, December 3, 2010
Friday, December 3rd, 2010
Who voted in the 2010 election in North Carolina? A county-by-county profile of who voted – by race, sex, age and party – shows that turnout among registered Republicans in North Carolina increased by 11 percentage points over 2006, the last mid-term election, but by only 5 points for Democrats. But the Democrats can’t blame their black supporters for this weak performance: turnout among African-American voters increased by 11 percentage points over 2006, compared to a 7 point gain for all white voters. Read the Democracy North Carolina overview and the four pages of details for the 81 counties that have so far reported the demographic details of their voters.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Friday, November 5th, 2010
The Institute for Southern Studies has another report on Art Pope’s use of corporate and personal donations to spread lies and depress voter turnout by pumping up the “negatives” of state Democratic candidates. This is how you purchase election outcomes through deceit, but of course it didn’t begin with this election cycle and is not uniquely a Republican strategy. However, the scope of damage a few billionaires can inflict on democracy has dramatically grown with Citizens United and new technologies. Along these lines, NBC News has a report exposing another group bankrolling Karl Rove’s comeback – the Wall Street greed heads who steered the economy into the ditch. These are the patriots protecting America’s culture of family values.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010
In a state where half the registered voters typically do not vote, relatively small swings in the activism of sub-groups of voters can have a big impact. In 2008, the exceptional turnout among African-American women and youth led the way to sweeping victories for Tar Heel Democrats. In 2010, Republican enthusiasm and disinterest among youth are two factors influencing the election results in North Carolina – along the multi-millions spent to reinforce both trends. By the time provisional ballots are counted, turnout in North Carolina will hit 44% (2.7 million out of the state’s 6.2 million registered voters). In 2008, turnout among registered voters hit a modern record of 70%. Put another way, more than one million voters who participated in 2008 sat out the 2010 election. A new report, cosponsored by Democracy NC, uses Census data to analyze the weak shape of civic engagement in North Carolina; that weakness reflects a deep history of enforced disenfranchisement and servitude, compounded by a new ethos of stressful selfishness. The report describes the poor performance of young voters. Our own analysis shows that voters age 18 through 25 were 10% of the Early Voters in 2008 but less than 4% of the Early Voters this year; i.e., their vote share was cut by more than half. No other sector dropped their vote share by such a large percent. (We won’t know the demographic make-up of the total vote for a many weeks.)
Some Useful Election Day Links
Monday, November 1st, 2010
The 2010 Election is here. Polls are open on Tuesday, November 2 from 6:30 AM until 7:30 PM. Click here to find out voting locations in NC by address plus directions to all polling places. Here are some other useful Election Day links you may want to use or pass on to others:
Friday, October 29, 2010
Friday, October 29th, 2010
The election of the decade is nearly over: The political party that wins majority control of the NC General Assembly will use new Census data to redraw political district lines to maximize its ability to win legislative and Congressional elections for the next decade. That’s one reason why the battles are so intense and complaints are flying. The state Democratic Party accuses the Republican Party of cheating on how it pays for campaign ads, while the Republicans claim electronic voting machines are giving their votes to Democratic candidates. Read the GOP complaint and response of State Board of Elections Director Gary Bartlett, posted on the Board’s homepage; it’s too bad the News & Observer missed so many of the points in Bartlett’s letter in its story this morning. The GOP’s complaint, which escalated today to a federal lawsuit, appears designed to spread cynicism about the voting process and reduce turnout among occasional voters; the GOP benefits this year from an election decided by the votes of a party’s most fired-up supporters. The intensity of the battle has already resulted in voters being intimidated by poll observers at One-Stop Early Voting centers. Democracy North Carolina has a one-page flyer about the rights of voters and urges anyone who sees bullying or inappropriate behavior to call the Election Protection Hot-Line (1-866-OUR-VOTE) or our office at 919-286-6000.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
Two front-page stories by the Raleigh News & Observer highlight the perspective of the forces dominating this year’s election cycle: make voting for poor people harder and the influence of big-money political donors easier. The first story describes Tea Party supporters in Raleigh harassing Chavis Park voters by writing down their names, asking them questions, challenging their ability to get assistance, etc. The harassers are following the tactics presented in a training video that a Republican Party official in Pamlico County told the State Board of Elections she helped prepare for the NC Republican Party. Some would say this is an effort to corrupt the election process. Ironically, the other story is about the stepped-up giving by mega-millionaire Art Pope to the Republican cause because he says he doesn’t like political corruption. However, he does like the new freedom the US Supreme Court granted him to use c-4 nonprofits and other vehicles to spread false information about candidates he doesn’t like. So this is the anti-corruption remedy for North Carolina? Chris Fitzsimon of NC Policy Watch gives more details on how these forces will try to undo the momentum in North Carolina for real reform.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Monday, October 25th, 2010
Two websites provide background and instructions, including a video, about the Instant Runoff Voting method being used this year in three local Superior Court races and one statewide Court of Appeals election. The Court of Appeals race, which is the nation’s first use of IRV in a statewide general election, has a certain historical fascination. In 2008, a black man was at the top of every ballot in North Carolina, in the race for US President. In 2010, a black man is at the bottom of every ballot, in the NC Court of Appeals IRV contest involving 13 candidates. Both men have quite unusual names: one is Barack Obama; the other is Cressie Thigpen. In both cases, voting a “straight party” ticket would not include a vote for or against them; voters must vote in the Presidential and Court elections separately. Both men graduated from prestigious law schools, taught at other law schools, and gained prominent endorsements across race and party lines for their campaigns; Thigpen is endorsed by white Republican and Democratic former chief justices of the NC Supreme Court. Obama and Thigpen were both born in the month of August. And so on.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Thursday, October 21st, 2010
A hat tip to Art Pope’s Civitas Institute for providing two practical, fairly objective services without overt ideological interpretation (no doubt they’re offered this year because the GOP is promoting Early Voting, but anyone can use these tools). One service tracks the use of absentee voting; caution: counts of mail-in ballots and in-person ballots cast at Early Voting sites are combined for one total, so these figures are not just the results at One-Stop Early Voting centers. You can look up your county or follow changes in the statewide profile of who’s voting early. The information comes directly from a file that the State Board of Elections updates daily, which you can download at the Board’s ftp website. The second service is a handy link to the location of any county’s Early Voting site(s) that allows a person to map a travel plan to the site. Pretty nifty.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Tuesday, October 19th, 2010
The Washington Post reports today that a study of felony disenfranchisement laws has found that 800,000 former felons have returned to the voter rolls in the past decade thanks to a push by criminal justice advocates and civil rights groups — including Democracy North Carolina — to rewrite state laws and eliminate various voting barriers aimed at felons. In NC, ex-felons can re-register to vote once they have completed their sentences, including probation and any parole. In NC, ex-felons can re-register to vote once they have completed their sentences, including probation and any parole. Read the full article here. Unfortunately, the report incorrectly says a former felon in North Carolina “can register to vote after filing a certificate demonstrating unconditional discharge and the restoration of voting rights with the county of conviction or residence.” The truth is this: Voting rights in North Carolina are automatically restored upon completion of the sentence, no special document is needed, and the individual can register like any other citizen.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Tuesday, October 19th, 2010
Who makes up the largest group of the early-early voters this year? In 2008, black Democratic women were the largest demographic group during the first 3 days (and all 17 days) of the early voting period. Their enthusiasm and organizing paved the way for the Obama victory. By sharp contrast, white Republican men are the leading group of early voters so far this year. They’re fired up and ready to go. A Democracy North Carolina press release and county-by-county chart analyze who is showing up at the one-stop early voting centers across the state. The WRAL-TV and News 14 coverage of the report include telling quotes reflecting the spirit of the times. (PS: The numbers do not include mail-in absentee ballots.)
Friday, October 15, 2010
Sunday, October 17th, 2010
(Posting delayed due to dead computer.) With Early Voting off to a roaring start, here’s a link to an all-purpose resource for North Carolina elections that we encourage others to post on their sites: http://www.NCElectionConnection.com/. It connects you to your Early Voting sites, a view of your sample ballot, the location of your precinct polling place on Election Day, and profiles of local, state and federal candidates for your area; plus it answers questions about what to do if you’ve move recently, if you want to vote by mail, if you haven’t registered yet, if you’re a college student far from home, etc. Speaking of college students, here’s a nifty 30-second PSA/YouTube video that a group of Charlotte students working with Democracy North Carolina prepared to encourage voting among their peers.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Monday, October 11th, 2010
Early voting begins Thursday in North Carolina. Two short video messages, pro-Tea Party and anti-Tea Party, are each designed to get their side to the polls with a message that says, “Aren’t you scared by what’s happening in America? Get out and vote!”
