Civic Engagement Headlines
You Can’t Tell a Gerrymandered District by Its Shape
The U.S. Supreme Court deliberates over whether a mathematical formula dubbed the “Efficiency Gap” should be used to detect unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering …
Read MoreVoter ID Laws Struck Down in 2017: A Good Day for Civil Rights in the Courts
2017 Victories: Federal courts in three different states promoted justice and fair treatment. Judges constitutionally-protected rights of minorities, striking down voter ID laws.
Read MoreDefeated Roy Moore Pushing the Voter Fraud Myth to Undermine Voting Integrity
While it is obvious that Moore is grasping at straws, he is simply toeing the line from other politicians who similarly repeat the false claim that voter fraud continues to swing elections.
Read MoreLessons from the African American Vote in Alabama
The African Americans who have convinced themselves that one vote doesn’t matter, should take a very close look at what happened during the recent special election in Alabama.
Read MoreFriends Rally to Support Judge Ola Lewis as She Battles Rare Liver Cancer
A news release issued this week by Lewis’ office in Bolivia stated Lewis has been diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer and has been undergoing treatment at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center in Minnesota.
Read MoreWhose Votes Count the Least in the Electoral College?
If the president were elected by popular vote, every voter’s ballot would have been given equal weight over the outcome, and Hillary Clinton would have won. But, as evidenced by Donald Trump’s victory, the Electoral College gives different weights to votes cast …
Read MoreThe Alabama Miracle: Doug Jones’s Moral Fusion Victory
The instrument chosen to perform the Alabama Miracle was the prosecutor who convicted Ku Klux Klan members for dynamiting of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham in 1963, which killed 14-year-old girls climbing the stairs to attend worship.
Read MoreWarsaw Mayor Connors’ Has Vision for a Better Community
(WARSAW, N.C.) – He won Warsaw’s top job by only two certified votes in November, and made history, becoming that Duplin County town’s first African-American mayor. “My goal is to reach a company that will [come to Warsaw] with jobs for 200 people or more …”
Read MoreBlack Women Helped Democrat Doug Jones Win Alabama Senate Race
A heavy African American turnout in Alabama’s special election propelled underdog Democratic candidate Doug Jones to victory, in a hotly-contested race against the flawed, yet heavily-favored, Republican candidate Roy Moore.
Read MoreJones Wins: “The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice” MLK
I’m pledging to do that tonight, but I will tell you, tonight is a night for rejoicing because as Dr. King said, as Dr. King liked to quote, “The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice.”
Read MoreAfrican American Voters Made Doug Jones a U.S. Senator in Alabama
Six of 10 black voters stopped by a New York Times reporter in a shopping center last week didn’t know an election was even going on, a result the reporter took to mean overall interest was low.
Read MoreNational Election Protection Hotline Receives Calls from Alabama Voters Reporting Voter Intimidation and Mass Voter Confusion Tactics
Voters throughout the state reported various complaints, some of which impacted individual voters and some that reflected systemic issues.
Read MoreBlack Women on What Happened in Alabama in Five Tweets That Mobilized
the numbers reveals that headline is missing a word: black. As the Washington Post reports, 63% of white women voted for Moore; only 2% of black women, who made up 17% of voters, did. And the black turnout was strong, with African-Americans making up as much as 30%
Read MoreBlack Voters Make History: an Unlikely Coalition of African-Americans, Liberal Whites and Moderate Republicans
Jones successfully fought to gather together an unlikely coalition of African-Americans, liberal whites and moderate Republicans. His strongest support came from across Alabama’s “black belt,” named for the color of its soil …
Read MoreRoy Moore Refuses to Concede Alabama Race; African-Americans, Women Carry Jones to Victory
The current margin appears too large for an automatic recount, which is triggered under state law if the candidates are separated by less than half a percentage point, but Moore could call for a recount if he’s willing to pay for one himself.
Read MoreNew Warsaw Town Commissioner Valerie Nelson: First African-American Woman on Board
Newly-elected Warsaw Town Commissioner Valerie Nelson, the first African-American woman ever to sit on the town board, and the first write-in candidate in Warsaw’s history …
Read MoreFirst Vote NC Offers Free Curriculum and Local Election Simulation
First Vote NC aims to change the state of young voters in North Carolina. First Vote NC’s mission is to engage young people in the democratic process by conducting simulation elections in high schools across North Carolina.
Read MoreFive Questions With Professor Valerie Johnson, Weighs in on Monuments Law, Free Speech
She is also one of only two Black members of the 17-member North Carolina Historical Commission, which must approve any proposed removal, relocation, or alteration of historical monuments
Read MoreThe Republican Power Plays at the Heart of N.C. Politics
There’s the ongoing imbroglio with the elections board, as well as lawsuits challenging the legislature’s decisions to block Cooper from appointing Court of Appeals judges and members of the N.C. Industrial Commission.
Read MoreJoining Fellow Citizens in Protest or Peaceful Assembly Critical to Functioning Democracy
But it is also unfortunately true that governments and police can violate this right – through the use of mass arrests, illegal use of force, criminalization of protest, and other means intended to thwart free public expression.
Read MoreMajor Reform, 2020 Iowa Caucuses to Include Absentee Voting, Public Vote Totals
A Democratic National Committee panel known as the Unity Reform Commission set those changes into motion during a meeting here on Saturday, clearing the way for perhaps the most significant changes to the Iowa caucuses.
Read MoreNorth Carolina: Redistricting Expert Says No ‘Racial Targeting’ in Map Fixes
The expert who federal judges asked to redraw some North Carolina House and Senate district lines defended his final recommendations Friday, rejecting Republican arguments …
Read MoreRestoration of Voting Rights for Felons: A State-By-State Policy Choice
It has been common practice in the United States to make felons ineligible to vote, in some cases permanently. Over the last few decades, the general trend has been toward reinstating the right to vote at some point, although this is a state-by-state policy choice.
Read MoreSpecial Master Releases Final Recommendations in NC Racial Gerrymandering Case
Special Master tasked with reviewing the North Carolina’s 2017 redistricting plan, submitted a final set of recommendations to the federal Middle District Court of North Carolina earlier today.
Read MoreElection Protection: Help for Voters, Don’t Be Misled, or Turned Away at the Polls
Some voters are misled, or get turned away at the polls. Sometimes the cause is a lack of good information; sometimes political groups purposefully deceive people they don’t want to vote – it has happened in North Carolina …
Read MoreWho Didn’t Vote in Virginia?
Democrats won the Governorship by almost 9% and picked up 15, maybe 15+ seats in the State’s House of Delegates (our State House). Four races are subject to a recount. In one recount the Democrat is very likely the ultimate winner.
Read MoreVoting at Black Colleges Could Drop 30 Percent, Can Dems Fix the Apathy?
Voter turnout among the estimated 300,000 students at HBCUs fell nearly 11 percent from 2012 to 2016, according to a national survey by the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education at Tufts University.
Read MoreWith Obama Gone, Black Voting Drop-off Is a Real Problem for Democrats
Brownstein observes after looking at now-available census- and voter-file-based evidence — which is more accurate than the initial exit polls — African-American turnout took a big hit in 2016:
Read MoreOpen Letter to NC Elected Leaders of Three Co-Equal Branches of the NC Government
We have carefully tracked the public policies the N.C. Government has promoted, and how they impacted minorities, working and poor people for a long time. As you know, we have over 100 branches across the state …
Read MoreBlack Voters Could Be Decisive Key in Alabama Senate Race
“Yes, you got it, despite all that’s going on, Democrats are not using this moment to capitalize on these big pools of Black voters down here,” one operative tells The Tribune on background.
Read MoreCongresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12) Opposes GOP Tax Plan
“The Republican tax plan adds trillions to the deficit and increases taxes on working families to give a tax cut to corporations and the wealthy. I could not support this selfish measure that was only passed to score political points …
Read MoreLaToya Cantrell becomes New Orleans’ 1st woman mayor
LaToya Cantrell, a City Council member who first gained a political following as she worked to help her hard-hit neighborhood recover from Hurricane Katrina, won a historic election Saturday that made her the first woman mayor of New Orleans.
Read MoreAUTOPSY: The Democratic Party in Crisis – Leadership Still Chasing Republican Voters
The party should avidly promote inspiring programs such as single-payer Medicare for all, free public college tuition, economic security, infrastructure and green jobs initiatives, and tackling the climate crisis.
Read MoreWhat Killed the Democratic Party? The Nation
The Democratic Party lost just about everything in 2016, but so far it has offered only evasive regrets and mild apologies. Instead of acknowledging gross failure and astounding errors, the party’s leaders and campaign professionals wallowed in self-pity and righteous indignation.
Read MoreCongressional Black Caucus (CBC): Committed to Using Full Constitutional power
While the CBC has predominately been made up of members of the Democratic Party, the founding members of the caucus envisioned a non-partisan organization.
Read MoreDr. Alma S. Adams Representing the 12th Congressional District of North Carolina
Representative Adams sits on the Committee on Education and the Workforce, the Agriculture Committee, the Small Business Committee, and the Joint Economic Committee.
Read MoreDemocrats, Black Candidates Win Historic Victories on Election Night
Most saw victories by Democrats as a referendum on President Donald Trump, whose record low job approval rating has shrunk to 39 percent according to various reports.
Read MoreSpecial Master in Racial Gerrymandering Case Releases First Round of Redrawn Legislative Districts
A special master appointed almost two weeks ago by a federal court to examine and potentially redraw parts of the state House and Senate maps released his proposed plan to correct unconstitutional racial gerrymanders.
Read MoreSenate Rushing to Confirm Trump Judges Who Back Voter Suppression
President Donald Trump is rapidly filling a record number of empty seats on the federal courts. Many of his nominees have problematic records on voting rights. A Trump nominee from North Carolina, Thomas Farr, is one example.
Read MoreCity of Charlotte, NC Welcomes Its First Ever Black Female Mayor
Vi Lyles has just made history as the first Black woman mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina. She ran an aggressive campaign, and her victory was confirmed by local and national news outlets on November 8th.
Read MoreSeven Takeaways from the Democrats’ Big Night
It was a big night for Democrats, who also captured the governor’s mansion in New Jersey and added a historic down-ballot win in Virginia, where Danica Rome became the first openly transgender person elected.
Read MoreLawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law & Election Protection Hotline (866-OUR-VOTE)
To Take Calls LIVE During Election Day – Voters In 25 States Will Go To The Polls On November 7th To Cast Ballots In Local, Statewide Elections
Read MoreJoin the Upcoming ‘We Are Democracy’ Workshop in Winston-Salem on Nov. 18
Democracy North Carolina will equip you and your fellow activists from surrounding counties with the latest updates, tools, and training for building a multi-racial movement to mobilize …
Read MoreJoin the Upcoming ‘We Are Democracy’ workshop in Asheville, N.C. on Dec. 2
Democracy North Carolina will equip you and your fellow activists training for building a multi-racial movement to mobilize for redistricting reform, fight back against voter suppression, and set the stage for our collective work in 2018.
Read MoreThe Story of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)
For the first time, young people decisively entered the ranks of civil rights movement leadership. They committed themselves to full-time organizing from the bottom-up, and with this approach empowered older efforts at change …
Read MoreNew Study Proves One Vote Can Turn an Election in North Carolina
A new study from the nonpartisan voting rights group Democracy North Carolina shows that in a surprising number of cases a handful of votes can determine who wins or loses, especially in odd- year municipal elections like those now underway across the state.
Read MoreAdvocate Says Hacking, Social Media the New Forms of Voter Suppression
During her 15 years as executive director of the League of Women Voters from 2000 to 2015, Nancy Tate focused on fighting voter suppression through gerrymandering or overly restrictive voter ID laws …
Read MoreFederal Court Appoints for Special Master in Racial Gerrymander Case Requested by NC NAACP
NC NAACP President Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman, said, “NC NAACP has made it clear that we will not rest until we ensure that the voices of the people who have been directly affected by this egregious discrimination are fully present …
Read MoreVoter Engagement Project (VEP)
Greater Diversity News (GDN) is actively engaged in protecting our democracy and voting rights by promoting its Voter Engagement Project (VEP). In its formative stage, VEP will address various aspects of voter participation and will provide information for use in educating, organizing and mobilizing voters.
Read MoreNC NAACP Will Not Rest Until Fight for Fair Redistricting Maps for 2018 is WON!
The fight for voting rights in North Carolina has been an arduous effort to overcome one barrier placed in the path of African Americans after another. A lost vote can never be reclaimed …
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