Courts


North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore, Republican, speaks in front of the US Supreme Court in December. He urged the US Supreme Court to take up a case his side lost at the North Carolina Supreme Court. The state court, however, has agreed to rehear that case itself. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
NC Supreme Court Will Hear Voting Rights Cases It Already Decided

The rehearings not only threaten free and open elections, but also undermine the integrity of the state’s highest court, voting rights groups say.

The State Board of Elections denied a request from a voter to remove Columbus County Sheriff Jody Greene over racist comments he made. (Image via Columbus County Sheriff's Office)
State Board of Elections Denies Appeal to Remove Columbus County Sheriff Who Made Racist Comments

After a judge suspended Columbus County Sheriff Jody Greene in October for racist comments, he resigned and then ran for re-election (and won) in what some are calling an effort to “game the system."

Nadine Seiler of Waldorf, Md., holds a sign that reads "SCOTUS is Illegitimate" in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022, as the Court hears arguments on a new elections case that could dramatically alter voting in 2024 and beyond. The case is from highly competitive North Carolina, where Republican efforts to draw congressional districts heavily in their favor were blocked by a Democratic majority on the state Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
US Supreme Court Justices Appear Skeptical of Giving State Legislatures Unchecked Elections Power

The Moore v. Harper case, which originated in North Carolina, has the potential to dramatically alter American elections.

NC's Moore v. Harper case could "upend democracy" if the conservative-dominated Supreme Court gives states legislatures unchecked power over federal elections, some advocates say. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
What You Should Know About Moore v. Harper, the NC Court Case That Could ‘Upend Democracy’

The Moore v. Harper ruling will have serious electoral and political implications on both the state and federal levels, as well as decide whether state lawmakers should have total control over election rules–without any checks or balances.

Judge Lucy Inman. (Photo from her campaign website.)
‘The Truth Tellers of Our Government’: NC Supreme Court Candidate Lucy Inman on Why This Election Is So Important

Two seats are up for election on a court that could make the last call on things like abortion rights, gerrymandering, and more. 

Democratic Justice Sam Ervin IV is one of the candidates running for two crucial seats on the NC Supreme Court this year. In this 2014 file photo, Ervin speaks during a state Supreme Court forum in Raleigh. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)
‘We Don’t Wear Different Colored Robes’: NC Supreme Court Justice Sam Ervin Talks Partisanship and the Courts

Sam Ervin IV is one of the two Democrats running in one of the biggest judicial elections in generations.

Photo by JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images
A Look at How the GOP Candidates for the N.C. Supreme Court Might Vote in Abortion Cases

The North Carolina Supreme Court might be the last stand for abortion rights, and there’s a lot at stake in this fall’s election of two seats that have not attracted much attention from the public.