January 17, 2019

Campaign Finance: 4th Quarter, 2018

Campaign finance reports for the fourth quarter of 2018 were due January 10th, 2019. Here, we've aggregated the information for the candidates we highlighted in our Races to Watch Report. We will be updating these tables as the last few reports are submitted. Be sure to subscribe t…

January 10, 2019

Another term for Speaker Moore and corporate interests, with the help of two Democrats

Wednesday, at the opening of the 2019-20 session of the North Carolina House, there was a contested race for House Speaker. Democrat Rep. Robert Reives nominated fellow Democrat Rep. Darren Jackson against Republican Rep. Tim Moore, seeking another term as Speaker. Moore succeeded, though, …

January 9, 2019

low teacher pay in North Carolina is a crisis

Have you talked to a teacher in North Carolina recently? Or, more importantly, have you really listened to one? If you know or care about any teachers in this state, you most likely have witnessed their struggle to make ends meet under salaries that do not reflect their unremitting workload.

January 4, 2019

Republican attempts to control elections have left the state in chaos, but they want it that way

In 2013, upon taking control of the governorship and with supermajorities in both chambers, the North Carolina General Assembly entered into the business of statutory election interference. Since then, they have passed five laws intending to seize control over the elections processes to protect themselves. Almost all of these have been struck down by either the courts or voters.

This discord has thrown a complicated wrench into investigations into allegations of election fraud in the 9^thCongressional District. A month before the November 2018 election, a three-judge panel ruled the changes Republicans made to the State Board were unconstitutional, but allowed the it to remain in place during the election and subsequent investigation. 

However, as the investigation into Congressman-elect Mark Harris’ apparent election misconduct dragged on, the court ordered the board dissolved. Gov. Cooper moved to appoint an interim board, but Republicans refused to submit any nominees. As of now, even as officials uncover one of the most widespread examples of election fraud, the State Board of Elections sits in limbo, unable to fully investigate, compromise, or certify any evidence or results as a result of Republican efforts to meddle with the board.

How did we get here?

Read on for more.

December 30, 2018

11 Suggested Resolutions for Republicans in the NCGA: 2019 Edition

Last year, we proposed a list of 12 resolutions that we hoped the Republicans of the NCGA would observe and keep. They failed. 

Here are 11 brand new resolutions. Maybe this year they can rise to the occasion. 

December 17, 2018

Mark Johnson on School Nutrition: A Close Reading

A few days ago, Superintendent of public instruction Mark Johnson sent out the mailer below on school nutrition. School nutrition remains a critical battleground as students and families battle food insecurity amidst stagnating wages and continual budget cuts in North Carolina. 

Real Facts previously documented how Johnson used the NC public schools email list as his personal blog. Now, it seems that Johnson has moved to glossy mailers as a medium for his vacuous nutrition advice. Below, find an annotated version of Johnson’s note.

December 17, 2018

The North Carolina legislature doesn't look much like North Carolina— but that is slowly changing

 We are one year out from a new census and just one month past an election that saw an increase in candidates of color and female candidates. Using census information from 2000 and updated estimates, we’ve compiled some comparison graphs to see how diverse the General Assembly is compared to the population of the state. 

As of 2000, the population of the state of North Carolina was 8,049,313. The latest population estimate from 2017 indicates that the state grew by a little over two million people over 17 years. 

Though there were shifts toward better representation of NC’s population by its elected officials, there is still a lot of room to grow. For example, according to 2017 US Census Bureau estimates, Hispanic/Latinx people make up 9.5 percent of NC’s population, but there are no NCGA members who identify as Hispanic or Latinx. White people are still overrepresented in the state legislature as they occupy only 63.1 percent of the state’s population, per 2017 estimates, but more than 70 percent of both legislative bodies.

December 11, 2018

GOP Lawmakers Push Constitutional Amendment to Deadlock Elections Board Just After Election Fraud was Reported to NCGOP

In the days following the May 2018 Republican primary for the 9thCongressional district seat campaign staff for Robert Pittenger reported concerns of ballot irregularities to the NCGOP and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). Incumbent Rep. Pittenger lost the Republic…