By james art By Howard Peer
When it comes to elections, judges typically get the least attention of all political contests—few yard signs, rare billboards, a total absence of TV ads. But please consider the following questions:
*Why do North Carolinians now have to show photo ID to vote?
*Why were approximately 56,000 North Carolinians who were eligible to vote in 2022 removed from the voter rolls in 2023?
*Why is North Carolina, an apparently purple state, likely to send a substantial majority of Republican representatives to the US Congress next January?
The answers to all these questions are that in November 2022, North Carolina voters replaced two Democratic Supreme Court justices with two Republicans who joined the majority party in Raleigh to secure its power. The court was changed from a 4-3 Democratic majority to a 5-2 Republican majority.
Six months later, in April 2023, the new court overturned the previous court’s rulings on voter identification requirements, voting by people with felony convictions, and fraud.
In 2020, Donald Trump managed to take all 15 of North Carolina’s Electoral College votes, winning the state by 74,483 votes, according to CNN (2,758,775 to 2,684,292). This year, the state has 16 Electoral College votes to contribute to the total. What difference will these North Carolina Supreme Court rulings make to whether those votes go to Donald Trump or Kamala Harris again?
The previous court ruled that requiring photo IDs to vote was unnecessary in light of scant evidence of voter fraud alleged by Republicans in the NC Legislature, and was also unconstitutional because the photo ID requirement results in racial discrimination.
It also ruled that if a person had been convicted of a felony but had served their active sentence, their right to vote would be restored, although they would still have to report periodically for community supervision. This decision restored the right to vote to approximately 56,000 North Carolinians.
It also ruled that gerrymandering was unconstitutional and ruled that the US congressional district maps for North Carolina must be redrawn to allow for racial discrimination.
Six months after Republicans won a majority on the NC Supreme Court, all three decisions were overturned. Photo ID is now required to vote; persons convicted of felonies who have served their active sentences cannot vote until they have completed all community supervision requirements; and the finely drawn congressional districts of the Republican-dominated Legislature are sure to result in an unbalanced Republican majority of North Carolina’s 14 representatives.
This year’s ballot will feature one Supreme Court race and three Court of Appeals judge races (out of a total of 15 Court of Appeals judges).
The 2024 Judicial Voter Guide, which includes relevant information for these judicial candidates, is available on the NC State Election Commission website. To view the guide, Google NC JUDICIAL GUIDE. The guide will also be sent to all North Carolina households before the election.
Here’s how you can view your sample ballot for these and all competitions:
Google NC VOTER SEARCH
*scroll down to VOTER SEARCH
*indicate your first and last name (and other information if necessary)
*check to make sure you are listed as ACTIVE (If you are listed as INACTIVE or not listed, re-register at an early voting site. This is not available on Election Day.)
* click on your name
*scroll to the SAMPLE BULLETIN section
*click on the 2024 General Election ballot (under YOUR IMAGE BALLOT)
Howard Pear retired after a career as a counselor and manager with NC Vocational Rehabilitation and the Department of Veterans Affairs. He has conducted voter registration training workshops and is a member of the Winston-Salem Writers.