North Carolina Politics - The Daily Tar Heel

North Carolina Teaching Fellows Alexa Tomlinson and Jackie Stoehr participate in an activity to learn about using makerspaces in STEM classrooms on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
Photo Courtesy of Cheryl Bolick.

North Carolina Teaching Fellows program sees largest class since relaunch in 2017

By Zoe Werner | Apr. 13

The North Carolina Teaching Fellowship program accepted 132 applicants this year — the largest class of students since the program was reinstated by the N.C. General Assembly in 2017. The program is designed to recruit, prepare and support students attending North Carolina higher education institutions to become teachers in the high-need areas of science, mathematics and education of exceptional children.

The North Carolina General Assembly building is pictured in Raleigh, N.C. on Jan. 13, 2013.

NC Senate passes bill to allow survivors of domestic violence testify remotely

By Sophia Fanning | Apr. 13

State Senators and Representatives filed Senate Bill 51 and House Bill 39, also known as "Kayla’s Act." S.B. 51 unanimously passed the state Senate and was sent to the House on March 29 and is currently in committees. If passed, the law will allow survivors of domestic violence to testify remotely, even if the defendant objects.

Gary Birdsong, aka "The Pit Preacher," looks on as UNC junior exercise and sport science major Michael Spragley freestyles in the Pit on Sept. 10, 2021.

Editorial: Stop engaging with the far right. Seriously.

By Editorial Board | Apr. 12

"It’s your choice how you choose to spend your time. But the next time you engage with some unsubstantiated claim online, consider just ignoring it. You could be the difference between it only having 10 views and going viral."

DTH Photo Illustration. Jeff Jackson (D-N.C. 14th) using his TikTok platform to advertise his campaign and inform viewers about politics.

Column: Transparency from our politicians should not be a luxury

By Mary Blake Nobles | Apr. 12

"What Jeff Jackson is doing here matters. For one, it’s increasing political engagement by reaching millions of Americans through the most dowloaded app in the world. As much as political news is available to the average American, many do not seek it out. Jeff Jackson is able to reach his constituents and more on a free app that most people already have downloaded."

DTH Photo Illustration. Two UNC students are pictured exchanging money. House Bill 347 would legalize sports betting in North Carolina.

Column: Sports betting is a dangerous game

By Franklin Payne | Apr. 11

"North Carolina needs to properly address the industry of online sports betting with safeguards and preemptive policies to help our vulnerable youth. We have seen the spread of addiction in the schools of surrounding states, and we have no reason to bet against it."

DTH Photo Illustration. Republicans have proposed a bill that will eliminate the three-day grace period for mail-in ballots.

NC House Republicans advance bill to restrict mail-in voting

By Vina Senthil | Apr. 10

N.C. House Bill 304, a bill that would disallow the three-day grace period covering mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, has advanced in the state House as of April 4. A similar bill passed bicamerally in 2021, but was stopped by Gov. Roy Cooper's veto.

N.C. Democratic Party Chairperson Anderson Clayton speaks at a press conference on April 5, 2023, calling Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg) to resign from office after switching to the Republican Party.

'Deceit of the highest order': NC Democrats say they feel betrayed after Cotham switches parties

By Emily Gajda | Apr. 5

The North Carolina Democratic Party held a press conference outside its headquarters this afternoon, only a few hours after Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg) officially announced her departure from the Democratic party, where speakers urged Cotham to resign her office.

North Carolina Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg) shakes the hand of N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland, Rutherford) at the N.C. GOP Headquarters in Raleigh, N.C., after she officially announced her change in party afflilation. Cotham was previously a Democrat until her announcement on Wednesday, April 5.

NC Rep. Tricia Cotham officially switches parties, gives no specifics on abortion

By Ethan E. Horton | Apr. 5

N.C. Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg) held a press conference this morning at the N.C. GOP Headquarters in Raleigh with state Republican leaders to announce her official defection from the Democratic Party. Cotham's switch gives Republicans a supermajority in both houses of the N.C. General Assembly, allowing them to push through policy more easily and override any of Democratic Governor Roy Cooper's vetoes.

Part of "The Gift" by Senora Lynch is pictured in the late afternoon on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. The path is positioned outside the Graham Student Union and has celebrated American Indian culture and unity in general since its first addition in 2004.

Column: Protect Indigenous children

By Savannah Clay | Apr. 4

"Imagine how tired Indigenous communities must feel. Petition after petition, protest after protest, speech after speech, only to still not be heard. Imagine being stripped of your rightful land, your country and your livelihood. Imagine being proud of your heritage and culture only to be forced to conform to whiteness, shipped off to boarding schools and made to feel as if you are nothing. After being denied almost everything, overturning ICWA would deny Indigenous people the right to even raise their own flesh and blood."

The Orange County Sheriff's Office, located in Hillsborough, is pictured on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022.

NC House passes bill to require sheriff's departments to work with ICE

By Caroline Horne | Apr. 4

On March 28, the N.C. House passed House Bill 10, which would require all sheriffs in the state to comply with U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement. The purpose of the bill is to encourage communication with ICE in identifying illegal immigrants, uphold retainer requests from ICE and to report annual criminal ICE involvement data to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety.

DTH Photo Illustration. A North Carolina pistol permit is pictured.

NC General Assembly overrides Cooper's veto on bill repealing pistol purchase permits

By Annie Gibson and Kaitlyn Church | Apr. 4

The N.C. Senate voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper's S.B. 14 with a 30-19 vote on March 28, repealing the requirement to obtain a permit from a local sheriff before purchasing a handgun.

The Legislative Building located in Raleigh houses North Carolina's General Assembly.

NCGA Democrat to switch party affiliations, giving Republicans a supermajority

By Ethan E. Horton | Apr. 4

Cotham's switch would give Republicans a narrow three-fifths supermajority in both houses of the N.C. General Assembly, which could give them power to overturn any of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's vetoes. With Cotham, Republicans would hold 72 seats in the N.C. House and 30 in the N.C. Senate, exactly 60 percent of the seats in each chamber.

DTH Photo Illustration. The NCDHHS has announced changes to its COVID-19 dashboard and its remaining community testing sites.

NCDHHS to retire COVID-19 vaccination data, testing sites as state recovers from pandemic

By Sam Kornylak | Apr. 3

The federal public health emergency due to COVID-19 comes to an end on May 11. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced changes to its COVID-19 dashboard and state-funded testing sites, including the retirement of its COVID-19 vaccination data after May 31.

Republican-led General Assembly overrides governor's veto on pistol permit bill

By Ethan E. Horton | Mar. 29

On Wednesday morning, the Republican-led N.C. General Assembly overturned Governor Roy Cooper's veto for the first time since 2018 on a bill to remove the permit requirement for pistols.

Part of rural Orange County is pictured on Saturday, March 25, 2023. Governor Roy Cooper recently declared "Rural Week" to recognize the importance of rural North Carolina.

In light of 'rural week,' organizations work to make a difference in less populated areas

By Lauren Zola | Mar. 29

On March 20, Gov. Roy Cooper proclaimed "Rural Week" as a celebration of the rural communities in the state. Of N.C.'s 100 counties, 78 are within rural areas, making up approximately 40 percent of the state. Organizations and municipalities have worked to address the needs of underserved rural areas across North Carolina.

The North Carolina Supreme Court in the Law and Justice Building in Raleigh, N.C pictured on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020.

Column: The N.C. Supreme Court is in crisis

By Samad Rangoonwala | Mar. 29

"Ultimately, elections have consequences. N.C. voters chose to give these justices a seat on the court and we’ll have the opportunity to take that seat away from them in a few years. That doesn’t absolve the justices of the harm they can do to the state when making decisions based on partisanship rather than law, but at least it means their influence is not permanent."

DTH Photo Illustration. House Bill 40 and Senate Bill 53 were passed by the N.C. General Assembly without Gov. Cooper's signature.

Two NC bills pass through the General Assembly, become law without governor signature

By Sierra President | Mar. 28

This month, N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper let two bills pass through the N.C. General Assembly and become law without his signature due to his concerns about them. House Bill 40 seeks to control rioting and civil disorder and Senate Bill 53 tries to address hotel safety concerns.

Rep. Jeff Jackson (D-NC 14th) is sworn into the 118th Congress on Jan. 5, 2023.  Photo Courtesy of Ike Hayman.

'Setting the framework': Rep. Jeff Jackson uses social media to inform voters

By Ginny Dempster | Mar. 28

Rep. Jeff Jackson (D-N.C. 14th) has about 1.4 million followers on the platform, where he posts informational videos about Congress, its function and current issues — including information about emergency Zoom calls and the traditional freshman Congress office lottery.

The sign at the entrance of the Chapel Hill Police headquarters is pictured on Wednesday, March 8.

Governor Roy Cooper establishes new statewide violence prevention office

By Sam Kornylak | Mar. 27

Gov. Roy Cooper issued an executive order on March 14 announcing the establishment of a statewide Office of Violence Prevention. The office, which will operate within the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, will work to reduce violence and firearm misuse in North Carolina.

Northside Elementary School is located off of Caldwell Street in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Wednesday, March 8, 2023.

Survey shows increased violence at NC public schools, development affected by pandemic

By Libby Wakefield | Mar. 22

New data shows that North Carolina public schools reported an increase in student discipline issues during the 2021-22 school year. There were 11,170 total instances of crime and violence, an increase of 16.9 percent as compared to the 2018-19 school year.