Common Cause Coverage

MICHAEL WINES: In N.C., GOP seeks more control over elections

Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023 -- The GOP-led legislature may seize control of state and local election boards from the Democratic governor, fueling a feud that could resonate in 2024.

NC on national stage as U.S. Supreme Court hears case that could shift power over elections

North Carolina's redistricting fight will return to the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday, this time with national implications that are hard to predict.

Travis Fain, WRAL state government reporter

NC case before Supreme Court could upend election laws nationwide, legal experts say

On Dec. 7, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Moore v Harper, a case involving North Carolina election law. The decision could have far-reaching effects on how elections are conducted across the country.

Laura Leslie, WRAL capitol bureau chief

Voter advocacy groups ask US Supreme Court to deny NC GOP effort to halt congressional map

Republican lawmakers say a state court violated the U.S. Constitution when it refused to enact a map the legislature redrew

Bryan Anderson, WRAL state government reporter

Editorial: Citizens are speaking up to legislators. Adopt non-partisan redistricting now

Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021 -- The message being delivered at the N.C. legislature's redistricting hearings is clear - adopt a non-partisan process of setting up congressional and legislative voting districts that protect voters' interests first - not incumbents or political parties. If the legislators are truly listening and want to be responsive, they'll make it is their first priority to assure fair, transparent and non-partisan systems for redistricting BEFORE they offer up any maps.

New scrutiny on postmaster's campaign donations leads to calls for subpoenas, inquiry

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

Editorial: Voters need to focus, avoid distracting candidate implosions and campaign hijinks

Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020 -- At a time when voters ought to have the information needed to shape their choices, they instead are finding more confusion and chaos. Candidates and campaigns have no one but themselves to blame. In an election year like no other because of the demands imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, candidates and campaigns haven't been satisfied to struggle with those challenges. They've added to it with their own missteps along with failures to observe basic health and safety practices. It has been a disservice to the voters that they're seeking to sway.

'Attempted infiltration': NC advocacy groups say someone tried to run sting operation on them

Donations, volunteers were offered, groups say. But things didn't add up.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

Editorial: DeJoy is tool in Trump's effort to disrupt the election

Friday, Sept. 11, 2020 -- Donald Trump's efforts to disrupt the 2020 elections are, frankly, un-American.He should be working to encourage people to vote, working to expedite their ability to cast ballots and providing the kind of honesty and transparency that sustains confidence in a free and fair election system that has been a model for the world.

Editorial: Bipartisan House election bill will help voters

Tuesday, May 26, 2020 -- This legislation, the result of all-too-unique collaboration of Republicans and Democrats, will go a long way toward assuring as many registered voters as possible will be able to cast ballots in the November election.

Groups call for reforms to combat corruption, strengthen democracy

Good-government advocates call for the passage of anti-corruption, election security and political reforms on the federal and state levels.

NC Appeals Court: Not up to judges how long legislative sessions take

Common Cause had challenged a quick 2016 session over separation of powers, saying it violated the people's constitutional right to weigh in.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

Editorial: Tillman offers 'EXHIBIT A' of illegal gerrymandered congressional maps

Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019 -- When the courts look to the motivation behind the latest version of North Carolina's 13 congressional districts, the lecture from state Sen. Jerry Tillman will be EXHIBIT A. The legislative majority's goal in creating the latest version of congressional districts was, to paraphrase another legislator's now famous words, if they couldn't draw districts to give the legislature's majority party a 10-3 advantage, they'd draw them to give the party an 8-5 majority.

General Assembly maps set; NC Supreme Court won't take up gerrymandering case

State high court's decision, and Common Cause's announcement that it won't appeal, leaves new N.C. House and Senate maps in place.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

Public provides feedback on redistricting maps

The primary opportunity for the public to comment to legislators on the redistricting maps takes place Monday at noon.

House OKs new district map; Senate to follow

After criticism about a rushed process and accusations of partisan tweaking, the House approved a map of new voting districts Friday. The Senate is poised to follow suit with its own map Monday.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter, & Matthew Burns, WRAL.com senior producer/politics editor

NC legislative district map redraw underway, but quickly hits snag

Senate Republicans say they want to pick a map drawn by an expert in a gerrymandering trial and make some tweaks to it.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

Anti-gerrymandering group discusses upcoming redistricting

Redistricting reform advocates from Common Cause NC hold a press conference ahead of Monday's start to court-ordered legislative map redraw.

The New Yorker says it has files late GOP mapmaker used to draw gerrymandered districts

Tom Hofeller's files, at issue during a recent gerrymandering case, provide more detail on his North Carolina work.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

GOVS. MARTIN, HUNT, EASLEY & PERDUE: Gerrymandering 'poisons' politics; 'corrupts' our government

Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019 -- "Competitive elections make our politics more civil and create an environment in which promising and pragmatic policies can emerge. Partisan gerrymandering eliminates competitive elections, poisons our politics, and corrupts our system of government."

Editorial: Court should open GOP gerrymander files to reveal depth of unfairness

Monday, July 8, 2019 -- North Carolinians need to know all the details of how legislative leaders manipulated and gerrymandered to grossly and disproportionately favor one political party - in this case Republicans - over all others. Politicians worked to severely limit the choices for voters, depending on where they lived and the political party they affiliated with.

Editorial: N.C. can and must act for fair districts even if high court won't stop gerrymandering

Thursday, June 27,2919 -- Legal or illegal, North Carolinians have lived with unfair congressional and legislative districts for much of this decade and it has come at a steep cost. It is time to stop. North Carolina's courts need to address pending gerrymandering lawsuits without delay. The subtext of both the majority and minority U.S. Supreme Court opinions make clear that partisan gerrymandering is wrong.

Partisan mapmaking in NC withstands Supreme Court challenge in far-reaching gerrymandering case

A narrow majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices Thursday ruled that the question of whether lawmakers violate the Constitution when they draw election maps to entrench their political power is "beyond the reach of the federal courts."

Tyler Dukes, WRAL investigative reporter

GOP lawmakers: We didn't lie about election maps

Latest court filing blasts Common Cause, which leveled accusations earlier this month, and suggests attorneys be removed from an ongoing case.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

Redistricting bills stagnant as Supreme Court mulls political gerrymanders

Half a dozen proposals to change the way North Carolina draws election lines sitting in committee.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter