Changes to NC’s elections + new push for public school funding
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Senate leader Phil Berger proposed reducing North Carolina’s 17-day early voting period.
- State Board of Elections proposed rules to let a majority discard ballots lacking ID.
- Democrat proposed funding teacher recruitment and licensure reforms after Leandro ruling.
Good morning and welcome to the Under the Dome newsletter.
I’m democracy reporter Kyle Ingram, bringing you today’s edition with assists from politics reporter Esther Frances and K-12 education reporter T. Keung Hui.
More changes to elections on the horizon?
From voter ID to redistricting to restructured election boards, North Carolina has seen a deluge of changes to how the state conducts voting in recent years.
And the run-up to the 2026 elections will likely be no different.
Senate leader Phil Berger, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, suggested reducing the state’s 17-day early voting period, which he called “excessive.”
“We need to take another look at that, particularly in the primaries,” He said. “I don’t know in the general election, where you have a lot more people showing up.”
Berger recently lost his Republican primary election to Rockingham Sheriff Sam Page. Berger did not concede the razor-thin race until two recounts had been conducted.
And on the same day Berger suggested cutting early voting days, the State Board of Elections was considering new rules to make it easier to reject the ballots of voters who don’t provide ID.
The proposed rules, which now head to a public comment period before a final vote, would allow a majority of county election board members to discard a ballot if they do not believe the voter’s reason for not having provided ID. Currently, it requires a unanimous vote to discard a ballot for this reason.
All of North Carolina’s election boards have a 3-2 Republican majority after state lawmakers stripped Democratic Gov. Josh Stein of his appointment power and transferred it instead to State Auditor Dave Boliek, a Republican.
Jeff Carmon, a Democrat on the State Board, said unanimity should be required to “prevent any partisan play.”
“I think as a board, we don’t want that issue to come into play for something as important as this,” Carmon said.
Republicans on the board said they trusted election officials not to take partisan aims into consideration.
“This change is more consistent with the statute and how we do everything else that comes before the board, that it is a majority vote on making determinations of items,” board member Stacy “Four” Eggers, a Republican, said.
Under the proposed rule, voters would have a chance to defend their ballot if a board considers disqualifying it.
Democrats push for expanded school funding as session begins
In four terms in North Carolina’s House, Rep. Julie von Haefen, an Apex Democrat representing Wake County, has filed bills focusing on investing in public education session after session — seven in all, she said. The problem each time, she said, is that the bills never reach a point for discussion.
“They’ve always just been sent to Rules (Committee), which we know is their way of saying that they’re never going to hear this bill,” von Haefen said at a press briefing on Tuesday. “So, that’s the roadblock.”
The key to getting a discussion going on the bill? House Democratic Leader Robert Reives on Wednesday put it simply: “Win more seats.”
The North Carolina Supreme Court decided earlier this month to reverse a 2022 ruling that allowed courts to order state officials to transfer taxpayer funds to public schools. The case is known as Leandro because the Leandro family was the first plaintiff listed in the lawsuit when it was filed in 1994.
State Republican legislators in 2022 argued that only the General Assembly can order the spending of state dollars and fought the judicial money transfer. The state Supreme Court that recently ruled to dismiss the case is Republican-controlled.
Von Haefen’s bill would direct funding mainly toward ways to support educators, including reforming teacher licensure and compensation and spending $5.8 million on teacher recruitment and retention.
She said that based on the state Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this month, “the judicial branch has basically washed its hands of this issue and thrown it back to the legislature.”
“Well, fine, then let’s own it,” von Haefen said. “It is our responsibility now, and now there’s nobody left to hide behind. There’s no more excuses, no more delay, no more deflection and no more shifting blame.” - Esther Frances
Democrats, NCAE oppose ending corporate income tax
Some North Carolina Democratic lawmakers want to reverse the GOP’s plan to phase out the corporate income tax.
Sen. Natalie Murdock, a Durham Democrat, said she will file next week the “Kids Over Corporations” Act that repeals the state’s plan to phase out the corporate income tax by 2030. The bill would set the corporate tax rate at 5%, which Murdock said will provide a reliable, recurring funding stream for public schools.
“We can afford to ask more of corporations and fully fund our schools,” Murdock said at a press conference Thursday in the Legislative Building. “Corporations should pay their fair share to the workforce in the communities that made their profits.”
Murdock pointed to how neighboring states have corporate tax rates of at least 5% and how North Carolina has received low rankings on how much it funds public education.
Murdock was joined at the press conference by leaders of the North Carolina Association of Educators. NCAE is holding a mass teacher rally in downtown Raleigh on May 1 as part of its “Kids Over Corporations” campaign.
NCAE leaders held up what they called an invoice for $3 billion that they say have been denied to public schools due to corporate tax cuts. They said they’d deliver the bill at the May 1 rally.
“This invoice is a charge to every corporation that has gotten richer and richer off tax cuts after tax cuts, with our schools having been left to fall apart,” said Christina Cole, the president of the Wake County chapter of NCAE.
It’s unlikely the Republican-controlled legislature will consider the legislation.
- T. Keung Hui
Here’s what else we’ve been working on:
- Rep. Alma Adams of NC reportedly faced ethics investigation into staff relationship
- Four lobbyists indicted over Kentucky bourbon distillery trip for NC lawmakers
- Is a ‘real’ raise for NC teachers coming this year from the General Assembly?
- NC lawmakers vote for Medicaid deal. It goes beyond money to fraud and immigration.
- Duke freezes operations of pro-Palestinian student group over cartoon post
Thanks for reading Under the Dome!
That’s all for now! Have a great weekend. We’ll see you right back here on Sunday.
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