North Carolina is one of a handful of states that disenfranchise people living in our communities who are on felony probation and parole. Unfortunately, this policy, which dates back to the early 1900’s, disenfranchised nearly 70,000 North Carolinians in 2017. This number doesn’t even begin to count the number of people who never re-registered to […]
SOLVE
The Southern Leadership for Voter Engagement (SOLVE) is a multi-state network formed in 2013, to collaborate and share best practices in multidisciplinary advocacy, sound grassroots mobilization, and legislative and legal strategies to ensure fair and equitable voting practices. We address policies that have weakened the voting strength of many communities and formed obstacles and hurdles in […]
Use of Same-Day Registration in North Carolina: General Election 2016
Same-day registration (SDR) was a popular and effective tool in the 2016 presidential election in North Carolina, and its continued success in encouraging political participation in this state should be celebrated.
Judicial Redistricting in North Carolina: A Plan for Second Class Justice
Judicial Redistricting in North Carolina: A Plan for Second Class Justice documents some of the racial and partisan biases infecting the most recent judicial redistricting plan presented by a state legislative committee. Draft judicial districts unveiled in a December 2017 meeting of the Senate Select Committee on Judicial Reform and Redistricting covered many of the […]
Know Your Rights: Post Hurricane Florence
In the wake of natural disasters, voters frequently get displaced from their homes. That does not mean that these voters lose their right to vote and have their political voices heard. Survivors of Hurricane Florence who have been forced from their homes because of the storm and subsequent flooding have several options available to them […]
Clearing the Path for Free and Fair Elections
What’s at Stake: Jabari
Jabari Holmes is 42 years old and lives in Wendell, North Carolina. He was born with severe cerebral palsy that has confined him to a wheelchair. He lives with his 82-year-old father and 69-year-old mother. Jabari’s medical condition requires full-time care, prevents him from driving, and makes it difficult for him to travel at all.
What’s at Stake: Paul
Paul Kearney is a resident of Warrenton, North Carolina. Paul lives in a tight-knit community where everyone knows each other on a first-name basis. His family has been in the community for four generations. Paul is an army veteran, and after his father passed away he took on the responsibility of taking care of the […]
What’s at Stake: Jaden
Jaden Peay is a sophomore at North Carolina Central University. Jaden chose to major in political science because he’s passionate about voting and participating in the political system. Jaden wants to go to law school, eventually become a judge, and work to make the criminal justice system more equitable for everyone. Jaden grew up in […]
What’s at Stake: Esphur
What’s at Stake: Richard
Richard was raised in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and has spent most of his adult life working in both New York and North Carolina. A few years ago Richard came back home to North Carolina for good to take care of his father, who was in declining health, and to take over the family laundry […]
What’s at Stake: Noah
Noah is a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Noah is from Vermont but moved with his family to Carrboro, North Carolina in 2014. Noah is majoring in computer science and mathematics. Noah has invested in his new community by staying informed and engaged in North Carolina politics. Unfortunately, he has […]
What’s at Stake: Mina
Mina is a voting rights community organizer living in Durham, North Carolina. Originally from Georgia, Mina attended college at Duke University. After graduating in 2017, she stayed in North Carolina to work, managing a team that registers young people to vote. Mina believes voting is essential to our democracy and that our electoral process should […]
What’s at Stake: Daniel Smith
Daniel Earl Smith has lived in Concord, North Carolina for five years now, and has been a regular voter ever since moving to the state from Pennsylvania. He runs his own courier and delivery business. Daniel has five children ranging from ages thirteen to twenty-three. Daniel’s wife is the member of the family that keeps […]
What’s at Stake: Fred
Fred Culp is a 78 year-old resident of Waxhaw, North Carolina. He is originally from South Carolina but has lived in North Carolina for the last 45 years. He prides himself on being the best grandpa in the world. He vividly remembers growing up in the segregated South, having to enter the side doors of restaurants […]
What’s at Stake: Terence
Terence is a 28-year-old resident of Charlotte, North Carolina. He moved to North Carolina from Mississippi to attend Shaw University. Terence was a student-athlete and a Computer Information Systems major. After college, he moved to Charlotte to take advantage of a job opportunity. Terence still lives and works in Charlotte and has decided to make […]