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North Carolina Open Thread [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-06-01
Welcome. This is a weekly feature of North Carolina Blue . The platform gives readers interested in North Carolina politics a place to share their knowledge, insight and inspiration as we take back our state from some of the most extreme Republicans in the nation.
Please stop by each week. You can also join the discussion in four other weekly State Open Threads . If you are interested in starting your own state blog, weekly to occasionally, I will list your work below.
Colorado: Mondays, 7:00 PM Mountain Michigan: Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Eastern North Carolina: Sundays Missouri: Wednesday Evenings Kansas: Monday
Evenings
Please jump the fold for more.
The Trump administration is suing the state Board of Elections over what it says are violations of federal law for failing to maintain an accurate voter registration file.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday, the U.S. Justice Department said the lack of driver’s license numbers, partial Social Security numbers, or unique identifying numbers connected to some voter registration records violates the Help America Vote Act.
The Justice Department wants the elections board to ask all voters who do not have the proper numbers in the statewide database for the information. The elections board is to attach unique numbers to voters who do not have those other identifiers.
The allegations in the DOJ lawsuit mirror an issue Republican Appeals Court Judge Jefferson Griffin raised as he tried to overturn Democratic Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs’ election victory by throwing out votes.
The DOJ claims also mirror a state Republican Party and Republican National Committee federal lawsuit contending that people who do not have the government digits connected to their electronic file are not legally registered to vote. It’s unclear how many registrations don’t have the numbers, but the GOP sought to purge about 225,000 voters over the issue. <More>
The N.C. General Assembly is the state’s legislative branch, composed of a 50-member Senate and a 120-member House of Representatives. Each legislator serves a two-year term, representing a specific district. The N.C. Senate is led by President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R-Guilford, Rockingham), and the N.C. House is led by House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell, Watauga).
Over the past year, the General Assembly has ratified and discussed bills regarding elections, minors’ rights and diversity, equity and inclusion.
S.B. 747 — Elections Law Changes
Senate Bill 747 was ratified during the 2023-24 session and made various changesto state elections law, including allowing political parties to designate two poll observers to attend each election site and listen to voters’ conversations.
S.B. 382 — Disaster Relief-3/Budget/Various Law Changes
Ratified after the General Assembly overrode then-Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto, S.B. 382 allocated $227 million to Hurricane Helene relief, while also granting more power to the state auditor regarding elections.
H.B. 834 — Juvenile Justice Modifications
This law, ratified in June 2024, changes the age threshold for being tried as an adult for Class A to G felony charges from 18 to 16. Additionally, it states that any minor who is charged with a Class A felony can be tried as an adult.
<More>
REAL I.D. surge has ramped up struggles with appointments and waits. Legislature is weighing new jobs and funding.
Every day at the east Raleigh DMV office, customers begin lining up at 7 a.m. Most of them wait around three and a half hours for service.
For a few minutes on Friday, Gov. Josh Stein joined them.
North Carolina’s Department for Motor Vehicles is facing a months-long backlog of appointments — with a typically busy summer season ramped up further by demand for REAL I.D. Stein has tapped a new commissioner for the department, who’s outlining both a series of quicker fixes and a longer-term “overhaul.” He and top transportation officials visited one of the offices as they delivered remarks on the plans.
“Know that we’re working,” said Paul Tine, who was named DMV commissioner at the end of April. “Know that these folks have not been empowered in the way that they need to, and that’s my job to do that.”
<More>
Long lines were spotted at North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) locations on Saturday as the DMV resumed walk-in service at 20 office locations.
The Clayton DMV at 1665 Old U.S. Highway 70 was one of the offices opening for Saturday walk-in services. Most of the people in line told WRAL News they did not live in Johnston County.
The first people in line in Clayton arrived at 3:30 a.m. with lawn chairs. At one point, the line wrapped all the way around the building, and someone was handing out bottled water.
"For a senior citizen to stand out here in the hot sun for a mile-long wait ... I won't make it in today, so now my job is really in jeopardy," a woman waiting in line told WRAL News.
Others made the most of the long wait. Stan Austin, who was was waiting to get her REAL ID, passed the time by striking up conversation with the people she was in line with.
"I've met the most wonderful people standing here since 7 a.m.," Austin said. "But it's a test of your patience."
Some told WRAL they were pleased with how things were moving Saturday. <More>
I was one of many young, optimistic students whose public health research opportunities were stripped away by federal funding changes that hit the nation early this year.
I lost a paid research internship — an opportunity that would have supported my development as a researcher and allowed me to contribute meaningfully to the field of adolescent mental health, with a specific focus on health equity. That loss, along with the financial support I was counting on, left me questioning whether students like me still have a place in the future of public health, and whether research aspirations like mine will be supported at the federal level.
This raised a pressing question: when does too little federalism become a public health risk?
We are seeing the answer unfold now.
Fear mongering about government control aside, let's clarify the role of federalism in public health.
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — In Raleigh, several bills about PFAS, or forever chemicals, are making their way through the General Assembly.
House Bill 569 is sponsored by Representatives Ted Davis and Frank Iler.
The bill would hold PFAS polluters, like Chemours, financially liable for cleanup costs.
It passed the House earlier this month and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and Operations after passing a “first reading” in that chamber.
Senate Majority Leader Michael Lee also introduced a bill relating to PFAS this year.
It’s something Lee said has been important to him for a long time.
“I’ve introduced a water safety act every term, every term that I’ve served, every two years that I’ve been in the General Assembly,” Lee said. “The most recent Water Safety Act that I’ve introduced has got some really good, strong support. We’re still working on it.”
Lee’s bill, SB 666, has passed its first reading in the Senate and is in the same committee as House Bill 569. <More>
There’s an invasive species of fish spotted in North Carolina that is so dangerous, officials in other states are advising those who catch them to kill them immediately. The northern snakehead, a fish native to China that can grow up to three feet long, closely resembles the bowfin, according to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC), but coloration is different, with the snakehead looking more like a python. Snakeheads also have a longer anal fin (lower body fin) that is about half the length of their body.
And while bowfins are relatively harmless, the northern snakehead is known to ravage ecosystems. Experts say they are voracious predators that feed on other fish, birds, and mammals, and possess an eerie ability to survive on land for up to four days. The fish is so dangerous, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources warned residents who see them to kill them as soon as possible, The State reported. NCWRC released photos of the northern snakehead in 2019 and advised the public to freeze the fish or keep it on ice if found, and then contact authorities to collect the specimen. <More>
Smoke from Canadian wildfires is drifting into the U.S. this weekend. There are a number of large wildfires ongoing in Canada, including in provinces like Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.
Hot air rises very quickly, which means that the smoke and ash from these fires can reach high heights in the atmosphere. The upper level winds then take that smoke, and they blow it hundreds of miles away.
That's why many North Carolinians saw a hazy sky over the state Saturday. This will continue Sunday and Monday as well.
Despite that, the forecast air quality in our part of North Carolina is considered "moderate." <More>
Another solar flare directed toward Earth could result in an auroral display for parts of the U.S.
Once again, we're talking about the Northern Lights!
If it seems like we've been mentioning it more in recent years, you're right.
The sun is at a solar maximum, in which there's more activity/flares ejected from the sun's surface. Combine that with smart phone cameras that can capture it more easily, and you'll hear more about it.
In the case of Sunday night, a coronal mass ejection (let's just call it a solar flare for simplicity's sake) has collided with Earth's magnetic field. <More>
Thanks for the visit, I hope you found these NC stories valuable. Wishing all a good week.
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