News from the South - North Carolina News Feed
Governor sees influence at risk as NC Republicans file flurry of bills
Josh Stein is arguably the weakest governor in the nation. Western Carolina University political science professor Chris Cooper jokes that if Republican lawmakers strip any more power away, he’ll be naked.
But that doesn’t seem to be a deterrent this session as various bills attempt to shift more authority away from the governor — and other Democratic executives — to the Republican-led General Assembly or executive offices currently held by the GOP.
Already, Stein operates in a “legislature-first state” where the governor has always played second fiddle to the General Assembly.
For that, you can thank the royal governors, whose tight grip on colonial legislatures in the 1700s has left an enduring bad taste, Catawba College political science professor Michael Bitzer explained.
As governor, Stein holds essentially no power over the state budget other than the obligation to share his vision with Republican lawmakers who are free to promptly discard it in favor of their own.
His veto power is one of the weakest in the country, with no ability to object to specific items in budget bills, redistricting legislation, constitutional amendments or bills that apply to fewer than 15 counties.
He doesn’t even get to appoint his executive team. The attorney general, secretary of state, superintendent of public instruction and six other primary executive offices are elected by the people.
Moreover, the governor’s other appointment powers have shrunk throughout the years.
So why keep going? To show “who’s in control,” Bitzer said.
In the red
“Power grab.”
“Voter suppression.”
“You are overturning the will of the people.”
In late November, audience members were forcibly removed from the North Carolina Senate gallery after loudly objecting to Senate Bill 382, a Hurricane Helene relief bill that included a few hundred pages of other legislative changes.
Among them were several shifts of power from elected Democratic executives to the Republican-led legislature or elected GOP executives.
The governor’s Utilities Commission appointment went to the treasurer, Republican Brad Briner.
Stein’s election appointments — all members of the State Board of Elections and the chairs of the 100-county boards of election — were transferred to the state auditor, Republican Dave Boliek.
Stein would need legislative approval to appoint his State Highway Patrol commander and political party input when filling court vacancies.
The superintendent of public instruction, Democrat Maurice “Mo” Green, lost his ability to appeal charter school grants, renewals or amendments, as well as his oversight of the Center for Safer Schools.
The attorney general, Democrat Jeff Jackson, was barred from intervening in Utilities Commission matters or taking a position in court that conflicted with the General Assembly.
Former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed Senate Bill 382, calling it a “sham.” The legislature overrode it, and now various aspects of the law are in court.
In any case, the legislation served as a preview of what was to come in the 2025 General Assembly.
Stripping more governor power
A month after Helene hit Western North Carolina, Cooper issued an executive order, citing his emergency powers. The order temporarily raised the amount of weekly unemployment insurance benefits North Carolinians in the federally-declared disaster area could receive.
But since then, things have taken a turn.
Enter House Bill 48, which simultaneously censures Cooper’s move as illegal and upholds his executive order. It states that the General Assembly or U.S. Congress, not the governor, would have to call for any future expansions of unemployment insurance.
Bill sponsor, Republican Rep. Julia Howard, said the governor didn’t have authority to expand benefits, but “in the wisdom of the General Assembly, we felt that the right thing to do is to ratify that executive order.”
Democratic Rep. Deb Butler questioned why Republicans were trying to limit the governor’s ability to make a quick judgment in a crisis situation.
“It’s just another step in a rather calculated effort to undermine the balance of power in this state, and it is something that I just cannot support,” she said.
House Bill 48 made it through the state House and is awaiting committee assignment in the state Senate. A pair of proposed constitutional amendments seeking to limit governor powers haven’t made it quite as far yet.
Other proposed House bills would further erode a governor’s influence.
House Bill 144 would remove the governor’s ability to appoint a majority of the State Board of Education, subject to legislative confirmation. Instead, voters would elect 14 of the board’s 17 members, if a majority of voters approved the amendment.
And House Bill 64 would limit the governor’s clemency power — the ability to grant pardons or reduce sentences. If approved by voters, the constitutional amendment would require a majority of the General Assembly to approve the governor’s clemency actions.
‘Being a shield’
North Carolina voters haven’t elected a Republican attorney general since 1896, but they have consistently elected Republicans to the legislature since 2011.
“It just makes partisan sense to limit power from that Democratic official,” Western Carolina’s Cooper said.
Attorneys general are the chief lawyers for states. In North Carolina, they provide legal opinions to the legislature, governor and other public officials. They also may sue or intervene in court on behalf of the state, its agencies or its citizens.
Groups of attorneys general tend to work together to object or support certain presidential actions, depending on which party is in power. For example, Jackson has sued President Donald Trump over four of his executive orders — those banning birthright citizenship, pausing federal grants, granting DOGE access to federal payment systems and cutting medical research funding.
Senate Bill 58 and House Bill 72 would keep Jackson from continuing that trend. It would remove the power to advance any argument in court that would invalidate a presidential executive order — even if the General Assembly also objected to that order, according to legislative staff.
It’s nationalized, short-term power politics, playing out in North Carolina, Bitzer said.
Democratic lawmakers questioned if the bill was “prudent” or whether Republican lawmakers were fully thinking it through. After all, the president won’t always be a Republican and the attorney general may not always be a Democrat.
It might “come back to bite” Republicans later, predicted state Sen. Mujtaba Mohammed, D-Mecklenburg.
“The people of North Carolina elected two different people from two different parties to be their leaders,” he said. “Sounds to me like North Carolina would want these types of checks and balances to protect our state sovereignty.”
On Tuesday, state senators voted along party lines to approve Senate Bill 58 and send it to the House.
In the meantime, Jackson continues to go to court over Trump’s executive orders, and, so far, he’s got a good track record.
Jackson took to social media after a federal judge temporarily blocked medical research cuts, which would have harmed major research universities and “threaten(ed) thousands of jobs and innovation across the state.”
“It was a reminder that an important part of this job is being a shield against unlawful federal acts that would undercut our economy and hurt our future,” Jackson said in a post on X. “For the good of our state, that shield should remain in place.”
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The post Governor sees influence at risk as NC Republicans file flurry of bills appeared first on carolinapublicpress.org
News from the South - North Carolina News Feed
What is Chronic Venous Insufficiency? Will Trump be okay?
SUMMARY: President Trump has been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a common condition in people over 70 causing leg swelling due to blood pooling in veins. The White House confirmed no deep vein thrombosis, arterial disease, or heart issues were found, with normal cardiac function and no signs of systemic illness. Despite visible ankle swelling and bruised hands, attributed to frequent handshaking and aspirin use, the president remains in excellent health and experiences no discomfort. At 79, he stays active, working continuously. The White House emphasized these symptoms are minor and consistent with his busy public engagements and cardiovascular prevention measures.
Swollen legs led to President Donald Trump being diagnosed with what’s called chronic venous insufficiency. It’s a fairly common condition among older adults but requires a thorough checkup to rule out more serious causes of swelling in the legs. Here are some things to know.
Chronic venous insufficiency, or CVI, happens when veins in the legs can’t properly carry blood back to the heart. That can lead to blood pooling in the lower legs. In addition to swelling, usually around the feet and ankles, symptoms can include legs that are achy, heavy feeling or tingly, and varicose veins. Severe cases could trigger leg sores known as ulcers.
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News from the South - North Carolina News Feed
US House votes to yank funding for NPR, PBS, foreign aid, sending bill to Trump’s desk
SUMMARY: On July 2, 2025, the U.S. House approved legislation to cancel $9 billion in previously authorized spending on public broadcasting and foreign aid, marking only the second time in over 30 years Congress approved a presidential rescissions request. The 216-213 mostly party-line vote sends the bill to President Donald Trump for signature. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will lose $1.1 billion in funding for NPR, PBS, and local stations. The bill also cuts $8 billion in foreign aid but protects HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and maternal health programs. This follows Senate approval with some adjustments and reflects the White House’s push to focus spending on American interests.
The post US House votes to yank funding for NPR, PBS, foreign aid, sending bill to Trump’s desk appeared first on ncnewsline.com
News from the South - North Carolina News Feed
Missing voter information the objection of NC search
North Carolina State Board of Elections Executive Director Sam Hayes is setting off on a mission to correct 103,000 North Carolinians’ voting records from which some information is missing.
He maintains that the process, dubbed the Registration Repair Project, will not remove any eligible voters from the state’s voter rolls.
According to the state elections board, 103,270 North Carolina registered voters have records that lack either their driver’s license number, the last four digits of their Social Security number or an indication that they have neither.
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Last year, this missing information became the stuff of headlines, lawsuits and the high-profile election protest of Republican Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin, who lost his bid for state Supreme Court to the incumbent justice, Democrat Allison Riggs, by 734 votes.
In April, the North Carolina Supreme Court declined to remove ballots from the count based on missing identification numbers; they said the state elections board, not voters, was responsible for a faulty voter registration form that didn’t make it abundantly clear that this information was required.
While Griffin lost, the issue he raised remains salient for a newly Republican elections board and the U.S. Department of Justice, which promptly sued the state board over alleged violations of the federal Help America Vote Act’s voter registration provisions.
Thursday, Hayes told reporters that a process he unveiled in late June to gather these missing identification numbers had begun in earnest.
“We must put this issue behind us so we can focus our attention squarely on preparations for accurate and secure municipal elections this fall,” he said.
The plan to collect missing information
There are two groups of voters under Hayes’ plan.
The first group includes registered voters who have never provided a driver’s license, the last four digits of their Social Security number or an affirmation that they lack both. The state elections board has asked county election boards to check their records for these numbers, in case they were provided but not correctly entered into the voting system.
In early August, the state elections board will send letters to the remaining voters in this group requesting the missing information. If affected voters do not comply, they will vote provisionally in future elections. The elections board will create a flag on these voters’ records for poll workers.
The second group includes registered voters whose records do not show that they’ve provided an identification number, but have shown additional documentation at the polls proving their identity and eligibility under HAVA. These voters may vote a regular ballot.
However, the elections board will still send them a letter in a second mailing asking for the missing identification number to bolster the state’s voter records. Even so, if they do not oblige, they still will not be at risk of being disenfranchised, NCSBE General Counsel Paul Cox said.
County election boards have already made progress, and their work will continue as the mailings go out, Hayes said.
Voters can check to see whether they’re on the list of those with missing information by using the Registration Repair Search Tool. If voters don’t want to wait for the August mailing, they can submit an updated voter registration form using their driver’s license through the online DMV portal or visit their county elections board in person with their driver’s license or Social Security card.
“We anticipate the number of voters on the list will decrease quickly as word spreads about this important effort,” Hayes said.
The State Board of Elections unanimously approved the plan last month, despite some concerns from Democrat Jeff Carmon about putting up an extra obstacle for voters because of a problem with missing information that the voters didn’t cause.
“It’s hard to understand starvation if you’ve never felt the pangs of hunger,” Carmon said. “It’s the same situation with voting obstacles. Your perspective of an obstacle may not be the same as someone who’s consistently had their identity and their validity questioned.”
Nonetheless, Carmon and fellow Democrat board member Siobhan Millen ultimately voted in support of the plan.
Same ballot, different rules
Normally, when a voter casts a provisional ballot, the county elections board determines whether their ballot counts by the post-election canvass, held nine days after an election.
Voters may have to provide documentation or information to prove their eligibility to vote in order to be accepted.
The same process applies to the 103,000 affected voters, with a catch. Their vote may be accepted for federal contests, but not state contests, due to a difference in law.
According to the DOJ’s interpretation, the National Voter Registration Act requires all provisional votes of “duly registered voters” to count, Cox said.
But the state elections board has interpreted the state Supreme Court and North Carolina Court of Appeals’ decisions in the Griffin case as requiring a driver’s license, the last four digits of a Social Security number or an affirmation that a voter has neither before accepting their votes in state and local contests.
Under a recent election law change, county election boards have three days to validate and count or reject provisional ballots.
But sometimes, mismatches happen during validation due to database trouble with reading hyphenated names or connecting maiden and married names, for example, Cox said. The board has designed a “fail safe” in case this comes up.
When there’s a mismatch during the validation process, state law allows voters to provide additional documentation — like a driver’s license, bank statement or government document with a voter’s name and address — to prove their eligibility.
“A big chunk of these voters will have already shown HAVA ID, and that’s because in the past, when this information was not supplied, the county boards would still require these voters to show that alternative form of HAVA ID when they voted for the first time,” Cox said.
Poll workers will ask provisional voters to provide this additional documentation so that they can mark it down for later, if validation doesn’t work, he added.
Democrats threaten countersuit
Last week, the Democratic National Committee threatened the state board with litigation if they went ahead with their plan regarding those with missing information.
The letter claimed that the plan would remove eligible voters from the rolls illegally.
Hayes disagrees. In his view, he’s just following the law.
“It’s not the fault of the voters,” he said. “But at the same time, we’re required by the law to go back and collect this information, which should have been done at the time, and it certainly should have been done in the intervening time.”
He also clarified that North Carolina’s photo voter ID requirement won’t suffice for the impacted voters. They still have to vote provisionally so that their identification numbers can go through the validation process, he said.
As for whether his fully fleshed out plan will appease the DNC?
“We hope so,” Hayes said.
This article first appeared on Carolina Public Press and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The post Missing voter information the objection of NC search appeared first on carolinapublicpress.org
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
This article presents a balanced and factual report on North Carolina’s voter registration issue, focusing on the administrative process and legal context without overt editorializing. It includes perspectives from both Republican and Democratic figures, highlights legal rulings and procedural details, and covers concerns from Democrats alongside the state elections board’s explanations. The language is neutral, aiming to inform about the complexities of voter ID requirements and the Registration Repair Project without endorsing a particular political stance or framing the issue through a partisan lens.
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