ID Mandate Begins Thursday With Primary Early Voting
The start of in-person voting for North Carolina's March 15 primary marks the first time the state's photo identification requirement is being enforced.
Early-voting centers in all 100 counties open today. Most registered voters must show one of six qualifying forms of photo ID. Those who were unable to obtain such an ID can fill out a form and provide other personal information and their ballots will still count.
Blust announces Congressional Bid For District 13
State Representative John Blust will run for Congress in the newly drafted District 13.
Blust, a Republican, made his announcement Tuesday.
The 13th District now encompasses Greensboro, High Point, Statesville and Lexington.
The News and Record of Greensboro reports the district's current congressman, George Holding, will run in the newly drawn 2nd Congressional District. Holding is a Republican from Raleigh.
Some Republican Congressmen Oppose Naming Winston-Salem Post Office For Angelou
Nine U.S. Representatives opposed naming a Winston-Salem post office for Maya Angelou this week.
Wisconsin's Representative Glenn Grothman was the only opponent who spoke on the House floor. He cited Angelou's radical leftist politics in the 1960s and her support of Cuba's Fidel Castro. Others who spoke out later also mentioned her communist sympathies and her ties with Malcom X.
The proposal was initiated by North Carolina's Representative Alma Adams. Its opponents were all Republicans and included Jeff Duncan from South Carolina and Thomas Massie from Kentucky.
McCrory, Bond Committees Want Election Complaints Dismissed
A committee supporting a $2 billion bond on North Carolina's primary ballot and Gov. Pat McCrory's campaign say formal complaints suggesting improper coordination between the committee, McCrory and a legislator should be dismissed.
Connect NC Committee lawyer Steven Long wrote elections officials Wednesday saying allegations last week by Progress North Carolina Action leader Gerrick Brenner originate from "baseless scenarios." A Pat McCrory Committee attorney agreed in a separate response.
Paddling Increases In NC Schools; 90 Percent In 2 Districts
Corporal punishment in North Carolina public schools jumped after years of declines even as fewer school districts allow paddling.
An annual report released Thursday says there were 147 uses of corporal punishment statewide during the 2014-15 school year, up 20 percent over the previous year. That's despite around 100 of the state's 115 school districts forbidding paddling. Corporal punishment was used 890 times statewide four years ago.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.