Opinion Roundup: Voter fraud, incorrect ballots, final GenX report and more

Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: N.C. lieutenant governor releases voter fraud video, dozens of Brunswick voters given incorrect ballots, a dangerous step backward for transgender Americans, science board gives final OK to GenX report, GOP wrongly accuses dozens of Democrats of forcing single-payer health care and more.

CAMPAIGN 2018

LAURA LESLIE: Want to commit voter fraud? NC's top Republican tells you how (WRAL-TV reports) — Lt. Gov. Dan Forest released a video last week with step-by-step instructions for "organized groups" to commit voter impersonation, a felony in NC.

NC lieutenant governor in voter fraud video (AP reports) — The video was paid for by the NC Republican Council of State Committee, a political action committee chaired by Forest and largely funded by Greg Lindberg, a major political donor currently under federal investigation, according to WRAL-TV in Raleigh.

How we see partisan Supreme Court, Court of Appeals races (Charlotte Observer) -- NC voters will elect a Supreme Court justice and three Court of Appeals judges. The Charlotte Observer issues its endorsements. Anita Earls has a sharp legal mind and has been a forceful advocate for decades. She founded and led the Southern Coalition for Social Justice for the past decade, fighting for civil rights and equal access. We think she has the potential to be an outstanding justice and so we recommend her.

MARK JURKOWITZ: Constitutional Combat, How six amendments became the most polarizing issue on the ballot (Outer Banks Sentinel reports) -- For all the candidates facing the voters on Nov. 6, there’s one section of the ballot that encapsulates the bitter partisanship and bruising power politics that often define state government these days. It contains the six proposed amendments to the state Constitution.

TAFT WIREBACK: Guilford County elections chief urges voters to double-check ballots after mistakes found during early voting (Greensboro News & Record reports) -- That's the message from Guilford County elections director Charlie Collicutt to people casting ballots, both in early voting and on Election Day Nov. 6. Some early voters are finding errors when they examine their votes before finalizing the ballot, noticing that they intended to vote for a candidate of one party but the machine has marked their ballot for that candidate's opponent.

Poll worker's error means vote re-do for legislative races (AP reports) -- Nearly 150 North Carolina voters will be invited to cast their ballots a second time after a poll worker's mistake meant they were given the wrong paperwork. Brunswick County Elections Director Sarah Knotts said Tuesday the only difference between the two types of ballots that workers mixed up is a state House seat.

PAUL SPECHT: GOP wrongly accuses dozens of Democrats of forcing single-payer health care on NC (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- The North Carolina Republican Party and some of its candidates are accusing Democrats of pledging to support a health care agenda that includes single-payer health insurance. PolitiFact reviews it.

COLIN CAMPBELL: Controversial Image (The Insider reports) -- The vice-chairwoman of the N.C. Republican Party is under fire for posting an image that appears to show a black power fist to represent Democratic Party "mobs." Michele Nix posted on Instagram with the image, which features the slogan "jobs not mobs" and represents the Republican Party with a white "OK" hand gesture that has recently been appropriated by some white supremacists, while the Democratic Party is represented by a dark-colored fist similar to a design used by the Black Panther Party. On Twitter, Nix disputed a reporter's characterization of the image as a black power symbol, arguing that instead "the raised fist was a #COMMUNIST symbol now adopted by the #Democrats."

TIM BUCKLAND: As Election Day nears, local candidates look to stand out (Wilmington Star-News reports) -- On a wide range of issues, including GenX, roads, infrastructure, schools and more, candidates for local, state and federal offices sought to carve out their differences at a candidate forum held two weeks before Election Day. The forum, sponsored by the Greater Wilmington Business Journal and held at the Wilmington Convention Center, saw the four candidates for New Hanover County Commissioner onstage together, followed by individual appearances by the major party candidates for N.C. Senate and U.S. House, resulted in little direct interaction among the candidates.

DAVE HENDRICKSON: Early voting myths, rumors and misinformation (WRAL-TV reports) — We're less than a week into early voting in NC and already the rumors, misinformation and outrageous nonsense are spreading like kudzu. Think you can tell the true from the fictitious? Take this quiz:

BRIAN MURPHY: Budd, Manning clash over campaign accusations in debate for closely watched House race (McClatchy D.C. reports) - U.S. Rep. Ted Budd and Democratic challenger Kathy Manning took their biggest debate swings, not on expected political and policy differences, but on increasingly personal attacks in the final weeks of their 13th Congressional District campaign.

McInnis Best for Senate District 25 (Southern Pines Pilot) — In the race for the state Senate District 25 seat, Moore County is doubly a winner, even before the outcome is determined. First, we no longer fall under the “representation” of Jerry Tillman, whose district the last several years included Moore and Randolph counties. Tillman’s interest fell far more to the latter county, and his seniority seldom benefited Moore County. Secondly, we have two outstanding candidates competing for this newly redrawn district, which also includes Richmond, Scotland and Anson counties.

DARLENE DUNHAM: GOP Does Not Have Your Best Interests in Mind (Southern Pines Pilot column) — In the time I have spent penning these columns, I have tried to keep alive my belief in the two-party system. I have (mostly) kept my overt partisanship in check and have remained faithful to the notion that both parties, along with their respective presidents, and despite differences in ideology, will always put the welfare of America and Americans — ALL Americans — at the forefront of their policymaking. Unfortunately, I no longer believe this.

MATTHEW BURNS: Dozens of Brunswick voters given incorrect ballots (WRAL reports) — Nearly 150 voters at one early voting site in Brunswick County were given the wrong ballot last week, forcing county elections officials to discard those ballots, officials said Tuesday. Sara Knotts, director of the Brunswick County Board of Elections, said officials are trying to contact the affected voters to offer them another chance to cast their ballots.

TRAVIS FAIN: RED LIGHT: Barringer says video with Searcy vodka encourages domestic violence (WRAL-TV reports) -- For Republican state Sen. Tamara Barringer to suggest that Democrat Sam Searcy condones domestic violence or "puts respect for women last" because of the evidence at hand is a bridge too far indeed.

KASEY CUNNINGHAM 'Elect Butts:' Fake election signs leave Raleigh residents puzzled (WRAL-TV reports) — Signs spotted on Six Forks Road say, "These signs are dumb" and "Elect Butts, what have you got to lose?" The signs are slowing traffic on the busy road, but while many initially expected them to be part of a marketing or campaign strategy, the signs don’t include a website or phone number.

PHILIP RUCKER & ASHLEY PARKER: ‘In the service of whim;’ Officials scramble to make Trump’s false assertions real (Washington Post reports) -- From a nonexistent tax cut to unproven claims about a migrant caravan, the machinery of government whirs into action to reverse-engineer evidence for the president’s claims.

KRISTEN HART: Lt. Gov. Forest sees personalized learning first-hand at Shuford (Hickory Record) -- N.C. Lt. Gov. Dan Forest visited Shuford Elementary School Tuesday afternoon to tour the school and find out more about how the school prioritizes an individualized learning experience. Forest visited a number of classrooms, stopping in at least one class from kindergarten to fifth grade.

RASHAAN AYESH: 3 months, 3 special sessions. Do they really cost NC an extra $50,000 every day? (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- Democrats are saying one day at the North Carolina General Assembly costs as much as the average teacher’s salary. How much does a special session really cost?

WILLIAM GALSTON: Congress Can Stand Up to the Saudis (Wall Street Journal column) — NC Sen. Thom Tillis dismissed the “rogue operatives” cover story: “In Saudi Arabia, you do not do something of this magnitude without having clearance from the top. We need to find out who that is and hold them accountable.” Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse brushed aside the “struggle gone horribly wrong” narrative. “You don’t bring a bone saw to an accidental fistfight,” he said, raising the possibility of canceling the Saudi arms deal.

ASHLEY NURKIN: A dangerous step backward for transgender Americans (Charlotte Observer column) — The Trump administration wants to strip the basic rights of my daughter and millions of other LGBTQ Americans. I am the proud parent of two daughters, one of whom is transgender. This proposed change is ugly, intentional, and un-American.

Education can change troubling attitudes on freedom of expression (Wilson Times) — A majority of American college students believe controversial speakers should be thrown off campus and don’t know that highly offensive viewpoints are protected by the First Amendment, according to an October 2017 study conducted by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education billed as “the most comprehensive survey on students’ attitudes about free speech to date.”

BILL KIRBY JR: ‘I knew he was special,’ governor pays tribute to fallen state trooper (Fayetteville Observer column) — Gov. Cooper was remembering when he toured Columbus County in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, where towns and communities from Whiteville, Chadbourn, Evergreen, Boardman and Tabor City saw their share of flooding, power outages and wind-blown damage. And there, the governor says, he met Kevin Conner, a state highway patrolman.

THOMAS GOLDSMITH: Trusted Local Nonprofit Fills Needs in Florence-bashed New Bern (NC Health News reports) — Religious Community Services helps storm survivors put their lives back together after the storm, as it has after prior hurricanes.

Bridgestone tire plant could get $30M to keep 2,000 jobs (AP reports) — A tire-maker could get up to another $30 million from taxpayers if it keeps 2,000 jobs and upgrades its eastern NC factory. A state panel that approves big corporate incentives on Tuesday approved grants of up to $3 million a year for 10 years to Bridgestone Americas, which is updating its Wilson tire plant.

EDUCATION

MATTHEW BURNS: Study: No gains for N.C. 3rd grade literacy effort (WRAL-TV reports) -- Researchers say N.C.'s Read to Achieve literacy program has had no gains with five years of test scores showing little benefit.

UNC Asheville names lecture hall for 4 black professors (AP reports) -- UNC Asheville has named a humanities lecture hall after four of the school's first four black professors.

LIZ BELL: State Board of Community Colleges members want different way to prove student residency (EdNC reports) — The State Board of Community Colleges met Friday after a two-day planning session at Davidson County Community College, discussing frustrations with the state-mandated process to determine student residency.

ANN DOSS HELMS: With 3,400 students, this CMS high school could be the largest in NC history (Charlotte Observer reports) — Charlotte’s Myers Park High has just over 3,400 students this year, larger than any NC public school in the past decade and possibly the largest in state history.

SARAH OVASKA-FEW: Medicaid Managed Care: Who’s In the Running For Contracts With the State (NC Health News reports) — NC’s Medicaid plan is slated for big changes in the coming year, and companies are putting in bids to perform billions of dollars of work.

DILLON DAVIS: Misson deal needs ‘intense position’ (Asheville Citizen-Times reports) -- Former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon urged Western N.C. residents to push for transparency and representative board governance in the days leading up to and potentially after Mission Health is acquired by a for-profit hospital chain. Nixon said if the $1.5 billion deal that could see Mission purchased by HCA Healthcare is done correctly, it could be beneficial to the region for generations. His remarks come days before he is scheduled to confer with North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein and staff on whether aspects of the sales contract -- such as its proposed sale price or its protections for its rural hospitals -- best serve the public interest.

STEPHEN NAKROSIS: Smithfield Foods Creating a Recycling Facility Specifically for Food-Production Facilities (Wall Street Journal reports) -- Smithfield Foods Inc. said it is teaming with waste services provider Waste Connections Inc. to create a recycling facility to process materials specifically from food-production facilities. The project is part of Smithfield’s initiative to reduce solid waste being sent to landfills by 10% by 2020 across all locations. Its goal is to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions 25% by 2025 throughout its supply chain, the company said. Working with Waste Connections will enable Smithfield to save in rebate value of recycled materials through a specialized recycling facility in Clinton, N.C.

RUSTY JACOBS: NC Xmas Trees - Low Supply, High Demand (WUNC-FM reports) -- The N.C. Christmas tree supply might be a little tighter this year thanks to a variety of market factors. The 2008 economic downturn slowed sales and that meant less space to plant new trees, which take 7 to 10 years to grow.

TRISTA TALTON: Sutton spill damage, answers lie below (Coastal Review reports) – Activists sounded the alarm about the recent Cape Fear River coal ash spill as Duke Energy downplayed the damage, but researchers say determining the true extent of contamination requires digging deeper.

GREG BARNES: Science Board Gives Final OK to GenX Report, Leaves Health Goal Unchanged (N.C. Health News reports) -- N.C.’s Secretaries’ Science Advisory Board approves final report on GenX, making no significant changes but agreeing that concerns of residents with contaminated wells merit further scientific study.