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The Daily Tar Heel

The Daily Tar Heel Voter Guide for 2016

While the Presidential race gets the most attention every leap year, North Carolinians will make more than one choice at the ballot box this year.

And while local and state offices rarely receive the spotlight, they can often have the largest effect on day-to-day life, from the education that children will receive to how the state handles prosecutions.

North Carolinians can take advantage of same-day registration in case they have not registered to vote. Registration can be completed at an early-voting site by filling out a form and bringing a photo ID, such as a N.C. driver’s license, photo ID from a government agency, or other forms of documents.

There are five early voting sites in and around Chapel Hill, including Chapel of the Cross and Town Hall.

Early voting is available from Oct. 20 until Nov. 5. Check here for more information. Early voting is encouraged so voters can avoid long lines on election day.

North Carolina Senator:

Richard Burr, Republican

Richard Burr, the incumbent Senator of N.C., currently serves as the chairperson of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence where he oversees the nation’s intelligence agencies that provide information for leaders of the executive and legislative branches.

He plans to combat terrorism by devising a strategy that identifies U.S. enemies and the resources needed to combat them, and by taking the fight against terrorism to where terrorists recruit and train to keep the war off our shores.

He also plans to make jobs and the economy the number one priority by reforming the tax code by cutting taxes. Burr also plans to reform education by giving educators more control over setting education policies.

Burr served on the Senate Education Committee that passed the Every Student Succeeds Act, which ended the Common Core mandate and No Child Left Behind.

In 2015, Burr played a major role in renewing the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a major federal conservation instrument.


Deborah Ross, Democrat

Deborah Ross represented District 38 in the state House from 2003-2013. She was the Majority Whip from 2006-2010 and the Minority Whip from 2011-2012. Ross resigned from the House in 2013 to become Triangle Transit’s general counsel.

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As a state representative, she supported raises to the minimum wage. She supports small businesses and economic security in the state.

Ross wants to cap student loan interest rates and have income-based college loan repayment options.

In the House, she introduced legislature to support gender equal pay and paid family leave. Ross supports fair pay nationally. She supports Planned Parenthood funding and has sponsored legislation to protect domestic violence victims.

She believes in clean energy and climate change counteraction. She has voted in the House to oppose fracking and to support clean energy.

She intends to expand Medicaid.

Ross believes in government transparency and has voted for restrictions to lobbyist influence.


Sean Haugh, Libertarian

Sean Haugh is a Libertarian, pizza delivery person and is running for a North Carolina seat in the U.S. Senate.

Haugh encourages the effort to stop the war on drugs and supports the legalization of all drugs, including marijuana and opioids. He believes the war on drugs has been harmful for the American people and economy.

Haugh also supports eliminating the minimum wage because he thinks the problem is people’s dollars are not going far enough. Haugh said inflation is the cause for this and said the value of the dollar must be strengthened as opposed to raising the minimum wage.

Haugh also said gender identity is one area the government has no right to legislate and does not support House Bill 2.

Haugh both believes HB2 serves to demonize transgender people in North Carolina and the Charlotte ordinance is an unwarranted intrusion into their lives. He said laws should respect human rights for all, not create special protections for classes of people.

North Carolina District 4:

Sue Googe, Republican

Sue Googe plans to improve education by increasing teacher pay, cutting common core and increasing scholarships and vouchers.

She plans to improve the economy by lowering tax rates to encourage companies to bring their money back to the U.S. She also wants to pay law enforcement officers and first responders more, and to stop over criminalization.


David Price, Democrat

David Price is the current representative for District 4. Improving schools and colleges is a top priority of his. He supported student aid reform that reduced student loan interest rates. He also increased the number and size of Pell Grants.

He also plans to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. He helped pass the Affordable Care Act.

North Carolina Governor:

Pat McCrory, Republican

Pat McCrory, the current governor of North Carolina, plans to help the economy mainly through tax cuts. As governor he oversaw a massive decrease in North Carolina’s taxes — allowing the state to go from 41st to 11th in the 2015 State Business Tax Climate Index — the sharpest drop in the index’s history.He plans to increase average teacher pay in North Carolina and to attract 300 new math and science teachers.

He also wants to expand funding for special needs students, and to ensure that community college students graduate with a credential or a degree.

As governor, McCrory supported and signed House Bill 2. He initially engaged in a lawsuit against the Department of Justice over their interpretation of the law but dropped the suit after the ACC and NCAA moved championships out of the state.

McCrory approved House Bill 74 in 2013, which allowed several environmental regulations to expire. He oversaw the prosecution of Duke Energy for its role in the Dan River Coal Ash spill, resulting in a $6.6 million settlement.


Roy Cooper, Democrat

Roy Cooper has been the Attorney General of North Carolina since 2001. Prior to this position, he was a member of the state House from 1987-1991 and a member of the state Senate from 1991-2001.

Cooper increased DNA testing of crime scene evidence as attorney general. He supported increased sex offender sentences and mandated they report their home addresses on the registry.

Cooper wants to repeal House Bill 2 and bring back businesses lost due to the bill.

He intends to increase teacher pay in the state. He supports tuition-free community college as well as charter school management to ensure accountability and transparency standards.

He wants to support small businesses as well as cut taxes for the middle class. He believes in Medicaid expansion.

Cooper supports renewable energy technology. He also wants to move forward coal ash cleanup efforts.

In terms of voting rights, he intends to reinstate same-day voter registration and allow for online voter registration.


Lon Cecil, Libertarian

Lon Cecil is the Libertarian candidate for governor in North Carolina. Cecil is an army veteran and retired engineer. He’s lived in North Carolina for 19 years.

Cecil supports simplifying the tax code by reforming property taxes and adopting a uniform consumption tax.

He believes the government should remain neutral regarding technological solutions, investment decisions and business solutions while eliminating all discretionary spending.

Cecil said health care regulation should return to the states and supports public spending on mental-health programs. As a member of the Libertarian party, Cecil supports lowering the drinking age to 18 and thinks the payroll tax should be eliminated.

He said gun violence has been in decline, but the government should end the war on drugs to reduce the remaining violence.

Cecil believes government spending is wasteful and said every service supplied by the government can be provided better and cheaper by private businesses in a competitive marketplace.

North Carolina Lt. Governor:

Dan Forest, Republican

Lt. Governor Dan Forest wants to help the economy by creating a favorable tax environment and cutting regulations on business to attract jobs to North Carolina.

Forest plans to encourage energy companies to move to North Carolina to create jobs by advertising available natural resources.

He believes school choice is important and supports homeschooling.


Linda Coleman, Democrat

Linda Coleman has served as chairperson of the Wake County Board of Commissioners and served three terms in the state House.

She wants to invest in public education and small business as well as increase funding for teachers and schools

Coleman plans to tackle climate change by ensuring accessible and affordable renewable energy.


Jacki Cole, Libertarian

Jacki Cole is the Libertarian candidate for Lieutenant Governor in North Carolina.

Cole said if elected, a focus of her time in office would be education. The N.C. Lieutenant Governor is head of the N.C. State Board of Education and Cole said she would use this role to create a committee of teachers and parents to help advise the board on policy decisions.

Attorney General:

Buck Newton, Republican

Buck Newton is a current member of the state Senate.

  • Supports a rollback of expansive government and wants to offer tax relief to all North Carolinians
  • Intends to toughen penalties on criminals
  • Supports saving money on energy through offshore and natural gas drilling to reduce dependence on foreign oil

Josh Stein, Democrat

Josh Stein previously served in the state Senate, representing from 2008 to March of 2016.

  • Intends to promote public safety through school safety, increase DNA database usage as well as protect victims of domestic violence
  • Wants to protect consumers from corporations
  • Supports preservation of clean air and water

North Carolina Secretary of State:

Michael LaPaglia, Republican

Michael LaPaglia has worked in industrial and technical fields as well as in leadership roles with more than 25 years of life and business experience.

  • Intends to advocate for entrepreneurs and business investors
  • Supports government-free enterprise
  • Intends to reduce unnecessary business regulation

Elaine Marshall, Democrat

Incumbent Elaine Marshall has held the position of Secretary of State since 1996. She was the first woman to be elected to the position in N.C.

  • Has worked to cut costs of doing business
  • Protected copyrights and deterred counterfeit goods in N.C.
  • Committed to protecting investors and decreasing financial fraud

Superintendent of Public Instruction:

Mark Johnson, Republican

Mark Johnson serves on the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education.

  • He supports reforming the system of over-testing that he claims the incumbent has created
  • Johnson says he would increase access to technology in classrooms
  • He supports local initiatives as opposed to statewide education policies

June Atkinson, Democrat

June Atkinson is the incumbent and is running for a fourth term as North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction.

  • Atkinson supports increases in teacher salaries and putting more resources into classrooms
  • She says the North Carolina graduation rate has increased 18 percent since she assumed office in 2005

North Carolina State Senate:

Mary López Carter, Republican

Mary López Carter serves as an adviser to the governor on the Domestic Violence Commission and has served as chairperson of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly.

  • Supports improvements in the economy and decreased rates of unemployment
  • Wants to investigate business licensing
  • Supports use of alternative fuels and energy sources

Valerie Foushee, Democrat

Incumbent Valerie Foushee was first appointed to the state Senate in 2013. She has 21 years of experience in the Chapel Hill Police Department.

  • Supports investing in public education
  • Supports repealing House Bill 2
  • Intends to protect environmental resources with clean air and water regulations

North Carolina Supreme Court:

Robert Edmunds

Justice Robert Edmunds is the incumbent running for reelection to the state Supreme Court. He is considered a Republican-affiliated judge.

  • He has served on the state Supreme Court since 2001
  • Edmunds served on the state Court of Appeals from 1999 to 2000
  • He was an attorney in private practice from 1993 to 1998

Michael Morgan

Judge Michael Morgan is a superior court judge in Wake County. He is considered a Democrat-affiliated judge.

  • He has been a superior court judge since 2005
  • Morgan was a district court judge in the 10th Judicial District Court from 1994 to 2004
  • He was a state administrative law judge from 1989 to 1994

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