Below, we have a look at Michael Jordan’s first steps into the wider world and a harrowing encounter with ICE in Charlotte, but first: 

We begin today with an important update on a developing election story. 

Last week, we reported on Billy Ball Explains NC that a late change in the way the state is processing mail-in votes is tripping up some ballots.

The folks at Common Cause NC, a nonpartisan government ethics nonprofit, have crunched the numbers further. 

They’ve found that the issue stems primarily from a rule blocking absentee ballots that are not sealed within an envelope within an envelope. In past elections, the state would count those votes, but new Republican election officials gave new guidance this year. 

Common Cause’s Sailor Jones—what a great name, by the way—writes that the change held up thousands of potential ballots, some of which have already been “fixed.” Others, however, might never be counted.

The rule has been especially impactful in counties with larger numbers of Black and brown voters. There is something voters can do to ensure that their mail votes are counted. Read more here. 

Dave Boliek, N.C. State Auditor, addresses the crowd before Vice President JD Vance speaks Friday, March 13, 2026, in Rocky Mount, N.C. A new report criticizes Boliek’s office for a Republican rule that’s threatening thousands of already mailed ballots in the state. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)

It’s beautiful fall Tuesday in North Carolina, and you’re reading Cardinal & Pine.

Share our voting guide and help folks get ready. 

Here’s what you’ll get in today’s email: 

C&P reader Teresa Young photographed this cotton field from Linwood, NC. It’s so North Carolina.

Our state ranks among the top 10 nationwide in terms of cotton production. 

Do you have a View from NC to share? Send it to us!

Video by Cardinal & Pine

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has not been getting the same number of headlines of late.

But the federal agency, with its massive budget, is still very busy. By the end of September, ICE had arrested more than 5,000 people in North Carolina, which represents a sharp increase in ICE detainments. 

Recently, we spoke with a Charlotte man who had a disturbing encounter with ICE agents in the Queen City. 

On Oct. 21, Atilio Portillo, a Charlotte small-business owner and US citizen, says he was held at gunpoint by ICE. As is often the case with ICE encounters with American citizens, agents left without explaining why they stopped him in the first place. 

Listen to Portillo tell his story here.

More at Cardinal & Pine:

1. NC Attorney General sues Dollar General, accuses store of overcharging customers. WRAL

“North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson held a news conference Tuesday morning. He said inspectors found 400 pricing inaccuracies at stores across the state.”

2. NC State Senate candidate allegedly threatens Cary officers while fleeing from them with gun. CBS-17

“According to Cary police, officers responded to the 300 block of Glen Echo Lane for a welfare check on 46-year-old Jonathan David Miller of Cary. Miller briefly spoke with the officers before fleeing.”

3. Wide district across 3 mountain counties makes for potentially close NC House race. Carolina Public Press

“With passing of incumbent, candidates from Whittier and Brevard, opposite ends of North Carolina House District 119, face off for the seat.”

Michael Jordan on signing day with his parents on Nov. 1, 1980. Then a basketball standout at Laney High School, Jordan committed to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (USA Today via Reuters)

Given the fanfare that surrounds college sports these days, it might be hard to believe how low-key Michael Jordan’s signing with UNC was. 

On Nov. 1, 1980, the lanky high school senior from Wilmington’s Laney High School hosted reporters in his parents’ living room to declare he would play for the Tar Heels. 

I bet you have a pretty good idea what happened next.

About a year and a half later, he hit the winning shot in the national championship game and went on to be the greatest basketball player of all time.

As we approach the 46th anniversary of Jordan’s signing, we’ve republished a look back from the Wilmington StarNews. Read it here.

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Billy Ball. I’m an NC native and journalist. I tend to lean left on opinion, but I lean no way on facts. Today’s edition includes content from Sailor Jones and USA Today Network via Reuters Connect. It was edited by Crystal Niforos.

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