Elections bill pulled from committee + Regulating NC’s crisis pregnancy centers
Good morning and welcome to today’s Under the Dome newsletter. I’m democracy reporter Kyle Ingram.
Elections bill pulled from committee
Lawmakers pulled a local elections bill from committee on Tuesday after members raised concerns about its compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act.
The bill, House Bill 1038, would have all city council members in the town of Jacksonville, located in Onslow County, be elected in at-large contests — rather than location-based wards.
Currently, the town has four council members elected in wards and two elected at-large.
Rep. Wyatt Gable, an Onslow County Republican and the bill’s sponsor, said the change was needed because the voting populations are not evenly distributed among wards, partially due to the large transient military population at Camp Lejeune.
“We’re just trying to make this all even, so we don’t have to keep updating maps and making it really difficult on the city,” he said.
Rep. Allison Dahle, a Wake County Democrat, said she reached out to members of the Jacksonville Town Council over the weekend who voiced concerns about the legislation.
“They’re very concerned about getting rid of the wards, because it gets rid of ... certain community voices,” she said. “... When we go all at-large, we have people that feel disenfranchised.”
Rep. Phil Rubin, another Wake County Democrat, questioned whether the bill sponsors had analyzed how the changes could affect majority-minority districts, which may be protected under the Voting Rights Act.
“I would hate to see the city of Jacksonville subject to more lawsuits because we didn’t do our due diligence,” Rubin said.
A member of legislative staff answered that she was not aware of any such analysis being done.
The Jacksonville Town Council currently has three Black members, all of whom were elected in wards. The council’s two at-large members are white.
It’s unclear if or how last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Voting Rights Act, striking down a majority-Black district in Louisiana, could affect such districts nationwide.
Following the debate, the committee’s chair, Rep. Sarah Stevens, said the sponsors would pull the bill for the time being to consider the committee’s suggestions.
Religious groups advocate for regulations on crisis pregnancy centers
Crisis pregnancy centers, which generally offer anti-abortion counseling to pregnant women, would be subject to stricter transparency rules under a new bill proposed by Rep. Julie von Haefen, a Wake County Democrat.
The bill, House Bill 1120, would require crisis pregnancy centers that receive state funds to provide detailed budgets, staff credentials and data on client services.
“North Carolina taxpayers expect accountability from anyone spending public money, and these centers should be no exception,” von Haefen said at a press conference. “This really isn’t about what these centers believe. It’s about what they owe the taxpayers who fund them.”
Republican lawmakers have increasingly directed state funds to such centers over the years, with The Assembly reporting last year that $30 million had gone to crisis pregnancy centers since 2022.
Von Haefen was joined at her press conference by a group of religious advocates, who decried what they described as crisis pregnancy centers using Christian ideology to promote anti-abortion rhetoric.
“Some of these centers claim that even basic oversight would violate their religious freedom,” the Rev. Katey Zeh, CEO of Religious Community for Reproductive Choice, said. “But religious freedom should never be weaponized to justify deception or to avoid basic standards of care.”
In 2025, the March of Dimes gave North Carolina a “D+” on its report card for maternal and infant health, noting that the state’s infant mortality rate was 6.9 deaths per 1,000 births — ranking 41st in the nation.
Veteran AP journalist, NC press corps president, stepping down
To round out today’s newsletter, the press corps itself has some news:
Gary Robertson, a longtime political reporter for the Associated Press, announced last week that he was leaving the company after accepting a buyout.
“This has been an emotional, surreal change given the circumstances,” Robertson wrote on social media. “But I’ll be forever grateful for being at this company and for the opportunity to work with the best journalists and storytellers I’ve ever known.”
Robertson spent nearly 33 years at the AP and has covered every North Carolina legislative session since 2001. He has also served as president of the Capital Press Corps since 2023.
Robertson said he will take some time off before deciding “whether journalism, something journalism-adjacent or an altogether different occupation is ahead for me.”
As a member of the press corps who has personally benefitted from Gary’s wisdom, kindness and generosity, I speak for all of us when I say we’re sad to see him go, but wish him the best in this next chapter.
Headlines you won’t want to miss
- NC Senate votes to pause property tax revaluations
- WakeMed leaders begin to make the case for merger with Charlotte-based Atrium
- Wake County lawmaker proposes changing how taxes on meals work in local towns
- NC teachers sound warning about their low pay in new survey. Will they leave?
- NC may get a special ‘America 250’ license plate, but not before the big party
Thanks for reading
That’s all for now. We’ll see you right back here tomorrow.
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