Election 2020 TIMELINE: the Rise and Fall of Separation Lawsuits, Ballot Challenges, Statewide Races, of Powers in North Carolina
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The rise, fall of separate but equal government A crumbling republic? Election 2020 TIMELINE: The rise and fall of separation Lawsuits, ballot challenges, statewide races, of powers in North Carolina. much more! Check updates daily at: PAGE 12 carolinajournal.com FOR DAILY UPDATES VISIT CAROLINAJOURNAL.COM AN AWARD-WINNING JOURNAL OF NEWS, ANALYSIS, AND OPINION FROM THE JOHN LOCKE FOUNDATION CAROLINAJOURNAL.COM VOL. 29 • NO. 10 • OCTOBER 2020 • STATEWIDE EDITION PAYOUTCOME OF N.C. SUPREME ATTENTION! COURT RACES COULD ALTER POLITICAL LANDSCAPE FOR YEARS ing alley reopening lawsuit olinians in the years ahead, — that they’re likely to side says Jon Guze, director of le- with Cooper. gal studies at the John Locke But on Nov. 3, the pow- Foundation. er dynamics might shift. “Voters need to remem- KARI TRAVIS Three seats on the N.C. Su- ber that the North Carolina ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR preme Court are in conten- Supreme Court has become a tion, and three Republicans superlegislature,” Guze said. are jostling with Democrats “As a result of judicial doc- he most important for a place on the bench. GOP trines adopted in the second elections in North Car- candidates are a team, and half of the 20th century, the olina are the races for they’re running under one court now has the power to the N.C. Supreme Court. brand. uphold facially unconstitu- TSo pay attention! Conservatism. tional laws if a majority of Judges are easily forgot- Supreme Court Justice the justices approve of them ten amid presidential cam- Paul Newby, the only remain- on policy grounds, to strike paigns and Washington an- ing Republican on the court, down facially constitution- tics. Media obsessions and is running for the court’s top al laws if a majority of the arguments over COVID-19 job against current seat hold- justices disapprove of them add to the din. But in a year er — and Cooper appointee on policy grounds, and to when so many freedoms are — Chief Justice Cheri Beas- change the meaning of laws suffocated by Democratic ley. Court of Appeals Judge — and of the Constitution — Gov. Roy Cooper’s arbitrary Phil Berger Jr., a Republican in order to advance the ma- NEWBY PAUL COURTESY mandates, the only path to and the son of the N.C. Sen- jority’s policy preferences.” LONE CONSERVATIVE. Justice Paul Newby is the only remaining Republican on the North Carolina defend those freedoms is ate leader, is running against Even a four-member ma- Supreme Court. Democrats hold a 6-1 majority on the state’s highest court, but in this year’s elec- through the courts. fellow Appeals Court Judge jority on the seven-person tion, Republicans could tilt the scales in their favor. So far, that path has of- Lucy Inman for Newby’s va- Supreme Court wields more fered no relief to North Car- cated seat. Former Republi- power than the General As- olinians, who want only to can state Sen. Tamara Bar- sembly and the governor Current Makeup of North Carolina Supreme Court open their businesses and ringer of Wake County is fac- combined, Guze said. exercise their freedoms. ing off against Justice Mark The fate of Opportunity Three seats on the court are up for grabs Nov. 3 That’s because all state Davis, a Democrat appoint- Scholarships, redistricting, court battles end in the ed to the court by Cooper in and voter ID — to name a few state’s highest court, where 2019. issues — will be decided by Democrats hold a 6-1 major- The outcome of judicial those judges we elect Nov. 3. ity. Those judges have shown elections will determine the continued PAGE 10 — most recently in a bowl- laws governing North Car- Interview: CAROLINA JOURNAL 4800 SIX FORKS ROAD, #220 Adam Griffin RALEIGH, NC 27609 Adam Griffin, constitutional CJ ONLINE PERMIT NO. 302 NO. PERMIT law fellow at the Institute DURHAM, NC DURHAM, for Justice, discusses rulings jlf.carolina.journal PAID regarding Wilmington’s @carolinajournal U.S. POSTAGE U.S. vacation rental restrictions. NONPROFIT ORG. NONPROFIT www.carolinajournal.com PAGE 15 [email protected] GET MORE CAROLINA JOURNAL 2 CAROLINA JOURNAL // OCTOBER 2020 CAROLINA JOURNAL FROM THE PUBLISHER The confessions of a judiciary junkie PUBLIC OPINION POLL PUBLISHER Amy O. Cooke @therightaoc North Carolina Judicial Elections EDITOR-IN-CHIEF he 2016 presidential Rick Henderson campaign turned me into @deregulator a judiciary junkie. As Democrats force-fed the Ameri- If the 2020 election for state Supreme Court were MANAGING EDITOR Tcan public an unhealthy diet of held today, would you vote for the Republican John Trump identity politics, voters like me candidate, or for the Democratic candidate? @stillnbarrel quietly became champions of the ASST. MANAGING EDITOR judicial branch. While we didn’t know how Donald Trump would Kari Travis By Party @karilynntravis govern, we did know his judi- cial philosophy when he wisely ◼ REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE 43% EXECUTIVE EDITOR released his list of potential DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE 43% 6-1 PROGRESSIVE MAJORITY. ◼ Don Carrington Supreme Court nominees. ◼ OTHER PARTY <1% [email protected] Four years later, Trump’s policy Despite losses at the federal level, Democrats have secured a 6-1 ◼ NEITHER 1% positions aren’t secret, and I agree majority on the N.C. Supreme Court. UNDECIDED 13% ASSOCIATE EDITORS with most of them. Yet I’m still ◼ Julie Havlak focused on the judiciary. Although @juliehavlak not quietly, and not just the U.S. minds, threatening impeachment, Mitch Kokai Supreme Court, because in North court packing, burning down the @mitchkokai Carolina we vote directly for our country, blowing up the system, Lindsay Marchello state Supreme Court justices. adding new states, eliminating If the election for N.C. Supreme Court chief justice @LynnMarch007 The recent death of Justice Ruth the Electoral College — any- were held today, would you vote for Republican Bader Ginsburg thrust the U.S. thing and everything to stop the Paul Newby or for Democrat Cheri Beasley? DESIGNER Supreme Court into the headlines. president from doing his con- Greg de Deugd Already having two of his nom- stitutional duty. None of this is [email protected] inees confirmed to the Supreme new. Democrats want to hold our By Candidate Court, Trump will do his consti- constitutional republic hostage PUBLISHED BY tutional duty and nominate a because they failed to win crucial ◼ DEFINITELY NEWBY 20% The John Locke Foundation replacement, as President Obama elections at critical times. ◼ PROBABLY NEWBY 18% 4800 Six Forks Road, #220 did in 2016 when Justice Antonin Despite losses at the federal lev- ◼ DEFINITELY BEASLEY 40% Scalia died. (The president had el, Democrats have done well in- ◼ PROBABLY BEASLEY 4% not announced his nominee as fluencing the N.C. Supreme Court. UNDECIDED 18% this column was finished.) Over a couple of election cycles, ◼ Raleigh, N.C. 27609 Democrats probably realize run- the left has secured a partisan 6-1 (919) 828-3876 • Fax: 821-5117 ning on identity politics in 2016 progressive Democrat majority. www.JohnLocke.org was a political miscalculation. continued PAGE 20 John Hood Now they’re losing their collective Chairman For a discussion of this poll see Harper Polling, on behalf of the Civitas Institute, Donald Bryson’s column on: surveyed 612 likely N.C. voters Sept. 17-20. The margin of Bill Graham, John M. Hood COMMENTARY BY JOHN HOOD error is plus or minus 3.96%. Due to rounding, the total Ted Hicks, Christine Mele, PAGE 20 percentages of responses may not equal 100%. Rodney C. Pitts, Paul Slobodian David Stover, Edwin Thomas Cooper faces test Board of Directors ISSN 2578-8167 Carolina Journal is a monthly journal of news, analysis, on voter ID Graduation rates and commentary on state and local government and public policy issues in North Carolina. have repeatedly criticized mate legislature,” Cooper’s attor- continue to increase ©2020 by The John Locke Founda- Roy Cooper’s troubling neys argued in a brief they filed tion Inc. All opinions expressed in by- efforts to amass power in the last year in favor of litigation to lined articles are those of the authors HIGH SCHOOL and do not necessarily reflect the governor’s office at the expense strike down two newly added graduation rates views of the editors of CJ or the staff of other elected state leaders, provisions to the N.C. Consti- increased again this year, going and board of the John Locke Founda- I local governments, and private tution that cap the income-tax from 86.5% in 2019 to 87.6% in tion. Material published herein may 87.6% be reprinted as long as appropriate citizens. rate and institute a photo ID 2020. The graduation rate for all credit is given. Submissions and let- What I have done too little of, requirement for voting. subgroups exceeded 80% except High school graduation rate in North ters are welcome and should be di- Carolina in 2020 rected to the editor. however, is describe the extreme I certainly agree gerryman- for students with disabilities and rationale for many of Cooper’s dering is abhorrent and violates those with limited English profi- To subscribe, call 919-828-3876. decisions. The governor and his basic principles of representa- ciency. Readers also can request Carolina aides simply deny the current tive government. But to leap “Students need to know that for in-person instruction, the State Journal Weekly Report, delivered each weekend by e-mail, or visit state legislature possesses the from challenging gerrymandered there are many different career Board of Education directed them CarolinaJournal.com for news, links, lawful authority to check his districts to questioning the very pathways they can pursue,” State to let high school seniors gradu- and exclusive content updated each power in the first place.