October 28, 2025 • 34 mins
Plaintiffs linked to Democratic attorney Marc Elias are preparing to challenge North Carolina’s newly approved congressional map. The NAACP has also announced plans to add the map to its ongoing redistricting lawsuit, while the State Board of Elections is seeking a resolution by December 1 to avoid disrupting the 2026 election timeline. Meanwhile, the North Carolina Democratic Party has called on Republicans in Washington to end the ongoing federal government shutdown. In other news, the state Supreme Court is being asked to take up asbestos-related lawsuits involving a Charlotte tire manufacturer, and Senate leaders accuse the House budget plan of pushing the state toward deficit spending.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
It's five oh five, A good Tuesday morning to you,
and welcome into the Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven,
ten ninety nine three WBT. I'm Nicked Craig, A good
morning to you well. As predicted by many that followed
the redistricting battle that took place last week in the
North Carolina General Assembly, legal challenges have begun to fly
(00:29):
in both federal and state court in North Carolina. Let's
start off here, plaintiffs in an existing North Carolina federal
redistinct redistricting lawsuit want to supplement their existing complaint to
cover the state's new congressional maps. The plaintiffs, working with
Democrat operative Mark Elias's law firm, filed paperwork to challenge
(00:51):
the new maps late last week, right after they were
officially approved by the North Carolina General Assembly. A three
judge panel held a trial this summer in two consolidated
cases challenging North Carolina's twenty twenty three congressional and legislative
election maps. That panel has not yet issued a ruling
(01:12):
in that case now, however, the plaintiffs in one of
the suits, identified as Williams versus Blackwell, are asking the judges'
permission to file a supplemental complaint. That forty seven page
document challenges the congressional maps that the Republican led General
Assembly approved last week under Senate Bill two forty nine.
(01:34):
State legislative leaders defending the congressional maps quote do not
oppose the motion for a supplemental complaint, according to a
new court filing. Reading through some of the legal documents
and some of the back and forth between some of
the parties in here, the complaint reads as follows. North
(01:55):
Carolina gained a congressional district after the twenty twenty census
almost entirely due to an increase in the state's minority population,
but the General Assembly has gone to great lengths to
ensure that the increase in minority population does not translate
into any increase in minority electoral opportunity. In a service
(02:16):
of successive redistricting maps, the General Assembly has systematically rolled
back minority voting strength across the state. The complaint goes
on to say Senate Bill two forty nine repeats the
constitutional violations of the twenty twenty three plan, unconstitutionally diluting
black voting strength in the Piedmont Triad in Mecklenburg, and
(02:40):
then doubles down on them by further dismantling the first
congressional district, a historic black opportunity district in the northeastern
part of the state. It reads, quote ced one, referring
to Congressional District one is home to many heavily black counties,
including several that compose North Carolin Line is black belt,
(03:01):
which has played an outsized role in the state's civil
right history. The twenty twenty five plan was designed to
prevent that from happening. The plaintiff's lawyers wrote, reading that
the plan dismantles the black opportunity that district Congressional District
one has by moving several counties with significant black populations
(03:22):
out of the district and into Congressional District three, trading
them for severely primarily white counties, diluting the black vote
in both districts. Under the twenty twenty five plan, the
complaint reads, black voters are extremely unlikely to elect a
candidate of their choice in either district. The complaint rejects
(03:43):
the notion that the changes were a quote mere side
effect of a partisan jerrymander, with one of the plaintiffs
writing whenever the General Assembly partisan aims to do, they
have once again chosen to target black neighborhoods and communities
to each achieve them. The Fourth Circuit has made it
clear that while using race as a proxy for party
(04:06):
may be an effective way to win an election, a
state legislator acting on such motivation engages in intentional racial
discrimination in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Voting
Rights Act. The complaint also argues that the new maps
violate the First Amendment and Equal Protection Clause of the
(04:27):
United States Constitution. That court filing late last week, arrived
a day after a three judge panel overseeing the two
redistricting lawsuits asked parties in the case for informations about
the impact of the new congressional maps that were approved
by the North Carolina General Assembly. US Appeal Court Judge
(04:48):
Allison Jones Rushing and US District Judge Richard Myers conducted
a six day trial covering both cases this summer. Republican
presidents appointed all three judges. The judges wrote in a
text order last week, quote, the North Carolina General Assembly
has enacted Senate Bill two forty nine into law, which
(05:11):
creates a new congressional map for the state of North Carolina.
The parties are directed to file briefs no more than
ten pages by five pm on Monday, October twenty seventh,
That was yesterday, addressing the effects of this development, including
potential mootness on the claim submitted to this court and
in these consolidated cases. So you've got that legal challenge
(05:35):
that is taking a place already an ongoing legal challenge
in some congressional maps and maps covering the North Carolina
General Assembly. And with that well, the North Carolina State
Board of Elections is telling courts that they need to
have legal issues surrounding these congressional maps finalized by December
(05:56):
the first of this year to avoid administrative delay for
the twenty twenty six election. You might be wondering why
that is the case. While candidate filing for these congressional
districts the newly redrawn first and third district are taking
place in early December. That is when candidates will have
(06:17):
to file all of the proper paperwork with either a
local or state board of election of course federal paperwork
with the Federal Election Commission to be eligible to run
in those contests. A primary if there is one in
any of those congressional races will take place in March
of next year, and will of course all wrap up
(06:38):
in November of next year with a general election. The
Election Board indicated that it takes no position on the
impact of new maps or on the ongoing Consolidated Federal
redistricting lawsuit, nor does the board take position on the
redistricting plaintiffs request to add a new map to the
existing court dispute. However, they are The lawyers for the
(07:02):
State Board wrote, as the State Board has previously stated
in this case, if changes to current district maps are
made as a result of this litigation, the impact on
the elections calendar will depend on the scope and timing
of such order to accommodate changes to the current map
without delaying any administrative dates or deadlines for ballot preparation
(07:25):
and distribution for the March twenty twenty six primary, the
State Board would need to receive the new map by
December the first, twenty twenty five, which is approximately six
weeks before absentee voting is set to begin for the
March primary. As I mentioned that this is in response
to those plaintiffs working with Democrat operative Mark Elias's law
(07:50):
firm who challenged some of these maps, or at least
filed paperwork late last week to try and challenge this
new map as it relates to the first and third
congressional district both of those in northeastern North Carolina or
eastern North Carolina, depending on the area that you are
looking at. That forty seven page document challenges those maps
(08:13):
that the General Assembly approved through Senate Bill to forty nine.
So looking at what is expected to come up in
the coming weeks and months as it relates to these
this new congressional map, these two new congressional districts drawn
by the North Carolina General Assembly. We do have this
one ongoing lawsuit that is looking like it will be
(08:35):
amended to add the new congressional maps part of Senate
Bill two forty nine approved by the North Carolina General Assembly.
We also have some new information this morning coming in
from the State Conference of the NAACP and Common Cause
who are hoping to challenge some of those maps as well.
So we are again as predicted as we chatted with
(08:57):
experts including doctor Andy Jackson and from the John Lock Foundation,
that there would likely be some significant legal challenges against
the maps drawn by the Republican led General Assembly. The
million dollar question this morning, will any of these legal
challenges garner any significant support from the courts ahead of
(09:18):
this early December deadline when candidate filing opens. It seemingly
would indicate that once that candidate filing opens, it will
be very hard for the courts to step in and
either block or stop those maps that go into effect.
As we have seen in years past, these legal challenges
over maps, whether we're talking about congressional maps North Carolina
(09:41):
House or Senate maps, lawsuits can take quite some time,
and it is something that is potentially likely to roll
out well after the election that will take place in
November of next year. We'll get into some details on
this NAACP common cause legal challenge as well up here.
In just a couple of minutes. It's five twenty one.
(10:08):
Welcome back to the Carolina Journal news Our Newstock eleven
ten ninety nine three WBT, continuing our coverage this morning
of some legal challenges against congressional maps drawn by the
North Carolina General Assembly last week. Extensive coverage here on
the Carolina Journal News Hour. If you missed our shows
last week, would encourage you to go and check out
the Carolina Journal News Hour podcast. Spend a lot of
(10:31):
time hearing from lawmakers, members of the public, and individuals
again on both sides of the political aisle debating the
new congressional map in Raleigh last week. Contrary to some
of the accusations from groups and from lawmakers, the Republican
led General Assembly was successful and able to move forward
(10:52):
with approving the new map, which will make changes and
shift around some of the counties in both the first
and third congressional Those are in the northeast and eastern
half of our state. Unlike a regular legislation that you
see work its way through the North Carolina General Assembly,
Democrat governor and Josh Stein does not have the ability
(11:13):
and did not have the ability to block or veto
or stop those maps from going into effect. Once both
the House and Senate approved them, which they did last week,
they did officially go into effect. That has prompted some
of these new legal challenges. The second one that we're
following this morning, the North Carolina State Conference of the
NAACP and Common Cause hope to challenge the new map
(11:36):
as well as part of an existing federal redistricting lawsuit.
According to a court filing Monday afternoon. A three judge
panel conducted a six day trial this summer combining to
lawsuits that challenged North Carolina's congressional and legislative maps that
were used in last year's election. As we've talked about,
(11:56):
the panel has not yet issued a decision in that case.
One set of plaintiffs, working with Democrat operative Mark Elias's
law firm and a case titled Williams Versus Blackwell, had
already filed a request to file a supplemental complaint targeting
the congressional maps. As we just talked about, those maps
are tied to Senate Bill two forty nine and redraw
(12:19):
two eastern North Carolina congressional districts, both with the nude
redraw are designed to elect Republicans, hopefully for the GOP as.
What they're trying to do is give themselves an eleven
to three majority in the North in the state House,
a delegation that is sent from North Carolina to Washington, DC.
(12:40):
That would mean a net gain of one seat for
Republicans in Raleigh. Now, the second set of plaintiffs in
the case of NAACP Versus Burger, wrote an a legal
challenge on Monday quote an intent to file in short
order a motion for leave to supplement their first Amendment
complaint appending a proposed supplemental complaint setting forth allegations related
(13:05):
to the enactment of Senate Bill two forty nine and
challenging the mid Day mid decade redrawing and configuration of
Congressional Districts one and three. According it to the court filing,
lawyers in the case wrote, as will be set forth
in a proposed supplemental complaint, the changes in Senate Bill
(13:26):
two forty nine have caused a significant drop in the
black voting age population of Congressional District I. As a
consequenced and as demonstrated by past electual data, it is
unlikely that black voters will overcome the extreme white block
voting in this area to successfully elect a candidate of
(13:47):
their choice under this new, even more diluted configuration. The
court filing continued by saying, since the enactment of Senate
Bill two forty nine has only furthered and indeed worse
in the same allegation of voting dilution and harm caused
by the twenty twenty three Congressional Plan as identified in
(14:08):
the First Amendment complaint, this case is not moot. The
Williams plaintiffs, as we covered, filed a separate brief on
Monday as well, arguing that the case is also not moot,
meaning that they believe that it's got some legs and
it is an important part of their ongoing legal challenge.
Republican legislative leaders are defending the challenge congressional districts and
(14:30):
legislative maps in court. They agreed in a brief on
Monday that most of the case quote remains live and
ripe for adjudication. GOP lawmakers argue that the originals a
lawsuit challenges to District one, however, are in fact now moot,
but legislative leaders issued no objection to the plaintiff's challenges
(14:52):
of the new District one in a supplemental complaint. So
you've got a couple of different parties going in and
jumping in on this case. You've got the NAACP and
Common Cause. You've got a group of individuals working with
Democrat operative Mark Elias, who has made a strong name
for himself over the last couple of decades, now going
(15:15):
around to various states across the country, and engaging in
legal challenges as it relates to redistricting, which is exactly
what you saw here in North Carolina last week. And
you also have the North Carolina General Assembly who filed
legal paperwork on Monday saying that this case does remain
alive and well and has no serious objections to these
(15:37):
new legal challenges being brought forth. All of this ahead
of a deadline. According to the North Carolina State Board
of Elections, they are asking the courts to have any
potential temporary stays or any other sort of legal challenges
they at least resolved in some part by December, the
(15:58):
first of this year, coming out up in just a
four weeks or so, as they do everything in their
power to make sure that the administrative deadline is held
in place. As I mentioned earlier, candidate filing for these
two new congressional districts one and three will take place
in early and mid December. That is why the State
(16:20):
Board is asking for some of these new maps or
new or I should say new maps singular their new map,
or any sort of challenges from the court to be
dealt with by that December, the first deadline, if not
presumably candidate filing will open in mid December, and once
those candidate file, it would be seemingly very hard to
(16:42):
put the genie back in the bottle and stop that process. However,
I'll note we have seen something similar in the past,
back in twenty twenty two, so it is something that
we are going to keep a very close eye on.
We'll be chatting with experts from the John Locke Foundation
and Carolina j dot com in the coming weeks as
we get additional details from either of the parties in
(17:05):
this court, whether it's the NAACP, Common Cause, Mark Elias
or the North Carolina General Assembly. We have a pretty
extensive coverage this morning on all of these different legal
challenges over on our website, Carolina Journal dot com. A
couple of those story headlines if you'd like to go
and read some more. NAACP to add new NC congressional
(17:27):
map to existing lawsuit. That's one of our top stories.
Another election board seeks December first resolution of congressional map dispute,
and the third Elias link plaintiffs seek to challenge new
North Carolina congressional maps. Continued coverage and more information available
this morning over on our website, Carolina Journal dot com.
(17:53):
It's five thirty six. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal
News Hour news Stock eleven, ten ninety nine to three
wb TEA focusing on some national news this morning. The
government shutdown does continue in Washington, DC this morning. In
the North Carolina, Democrat Party is releasing a statement as
it relates to that government shutdown, writing in part, nearly
(18:16):
a month ago, Republicans shut down the government to avoid
fixing the healthcare disaster they created. Now they're threatening to
stop food assistance programs during the shutdown, keeping nearly forty
million Americans from having secure access to meals. In North Carolina.
This means approximately six hundred thousand children and a total
(18:38):
of one point four million people across our state will
have difficulty putting meals on their table every night, and
let alone for Thanksgiving. Our country cannot continue along this path.
It's never been more clear that DC Republicans have lost
their sense of priorities. Last week, Trump gave Argentina forty
(18:58):
billion dollars, and this they're claiming they can't afford to
make sure families can eat. Lifelines that are literally keeping
families in North Carolina fed are not pawns that Trump
can use to force his agenda down our throats. It's
time for them to responsibly open the government and sure
snap benefits go out on time, and extend the Affordable
(19:19):
Care Act subsidies so that nearly a million working people
in North Carolina don't see their insurance premiums double in
the next week. Obviously, the government shutdown has been a
major political topic. This, of course a statement coming directly
from the North Carolina Democrat parties. How the Democrat Party, however,
the Republican Party and Republicans in Washington, DC, including individuals
(19:44):
like House Speaker Mike Johnson Senate Leader Ah john Thune,
continue to point the finger at Democrats who have now
failed in the United States, a Senate have over more
than a dozen attempts to reopen the government. Democrats' goal
here is to relitigate some of the ongoings from the
One Big Beautiful Bill that passed in July of this year.
(20:06):
They want to change healthcare subsidies that were already codified
in law there including adding a billions of dollars worth
of support to things like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, again,
things that were already stripped away due to the One
Big Beautiful Bill All eyes will once again be on Washington,
d C this week as we get closer to the
(20:27):
end of the week and roll the calendar over into November.
This is currently the second longest government shutdown that has
ever taken place in US history. From a Republican standpoint
of watching and listening to some of the commentary last
week as Senators made their way to the White House
Rose Garden for luncheon, it does not appear that Republicans
(20:48):
are going to move on any of the points that
Democrats want to add to this ongoing shutdown and say
they need to change to reopen the government. Same thing
on the other side of the aisle, Democrats do not
seem willing to move off of any of the points
that they are fighting for as well. So the stallmate
does continue in Washington, d C. We will continue to
(21:11):
attract the progress there, and the North Carolina Connection will
continue to provide you details and updates right here on
the Carolina Journal News Hour where it's now five point
thirty nine and News Talk eleven ten ninety nine to
three WBT. Multiple lawsuits against the former owner of a
tire factory in Charlotte could have some broader implications in
(21:31):
the business community across the state of North Carolina. To
walk us through some of those details. This morning, Mitch
Kochi the John Locke Foundation joins us on the Carolina
Journal News Hour. Mitch, we talked about lawsuits so pretty regularly.
Sometimes they're very narrow in individual cases and individual companies
and people, and then other times we've got lawsuits that, yes,
are focused on one person or one company, but they
(21:52):
could have a broader reach across many other industries in
North Carolina. What are you following out of Charlotte this morning.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
This is a case that's more than a decade in
the making. What happened was this former tire factory owned
by Continental Tire. Years ago, about one hundred and fifty
different people connected to that plant filed suit saying that
they were exposed to asbestos at the plant and it
caused them health problems. And so what happened was, as
(22:21):
these various suits were filed, the plaintiffs in the case
and the company decided that they would put together a
handful of representative cases what's called bell Weather cases to
sort of sort out the major issues of the case.
And then the bell Weather cases would help determine what
was going to happen with all of the rest of
(22:41):
the suits. As the Continental Tire folks focused on in
their latest briefing in this case, they said, the idea was,
if the plaintiffs lose in the Bell Weather cases, then
that's going to really rule out anyone else being able
to win. If the plains, then that's the signal to
other plaintiffs and to the company that we're probably going
(23:05):
to lose. The company's probably going to lose the rest
of these so I ought to start thinking about settling
these cases. Well, what happened was, as this case move,
as the various cases move forward, the Court Tribunal overseeing
the Industrial Commission overseeing the initial Bell Weather cases ruled
(23:25):
against the plaintiffs, saying that there was not enough evidence
that there was asbestos present at a level that would
have caused any health problems for these plaintiffs. The North
Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed that ruling, and what Continental
Tire is saying is that should have basically ended the case.
(23:45):
But what happened was a handful of plaintiffs, and by
a handful of talking about thirteen out of the initial
one hundred and fifty continued to press their case, saying
that the bell Weather cases didn't address all of the
issues in their particular concerns and complaints. They went forward
the Industrial Commission throughout their cases, saying, no, we've gone
(24:10):
through the Bellweather cases, you can't move forward. They appealed
once again to the State Court of Appeals, and this
time rather than affirming the Industrial Commission, the Court of
Appeals split two to one, and the two judges on
the majority said that the cases could go forward. They said,
these bell Weather cases did not say that these plaintiffs
(24:31):
could not press their claims. They can go forward. One
judge descended. The judge who descended was the chief Judge,
Chris Dillon, said, look, the bell Weather cases have decided
the main issues. This litigation should be over. So now
as the cases are scheduled to move forward, the thirteen
cases remaining out of the initial one hundred and fifty
(24:52):
or so, Continental Tire is appealing to the North Carolina
Supreme Court. They've filed a petition saying, look, Supreme Court,
please take these cases because you need to settle whether
this bell Weather principle is going to survive in the future.
If it's not going to work. If plaintiffs are not
(25:13):
going to abide by what the bell Weather cases say,
then why would anyone ever do this? Again, it's the
whole thing is designed to simplify this legal process, and
they make the larger argument that this could have a
potential negative impact on North Carolina's business climate. They've talked
about some of the things that help the business climate,
beyond things like taxes and regulatory reform. There is the
(25:36):
idea of having an Industrial Commission, there is the idea
of having a business court that deals with business issues.
And one of the other things that's part of this
is being allowed to have bell Weather cases when you
have multiple plaintiffs filing suit, and if that piece of
the process falls short, that's going to hurt North Carolina's
business climate. Now, of course, this is the argument that
(25:57):
the tire company is making to try to help stave
off these lawsuits, so they have definitely have skin in
the game. But it is an interesting piece of North
Carolina's legal puzzle and it will be interesting to see
whether the North Carolina Supreme Court decides to take the
case because of those arguments.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
So, Mitch, as you talk about these these Bell Weather cases.
Do these only come forward when you've got a large
group of potential plaintiffs In the case you mentioned around
one hundred and fifty or so employees. Is that typically
when you see these these bell Weather cases in North Carolina?
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Yes. And I don't know the details of how many
plaintiffs you would have to have before you'd start considering
bell Weather cases, but certainly it has to be a
large enough number that it makes sense to pick a
handful of representative cases to deal with rather than the
whole range of cases. And certainly it would seem to
make sense when you have about one hundred and fifty
(26:52):
of them, that you would not want to have one
hundred and fifty separate trials, that you would try to
pick a handful of cases that really cover most, if
not all, of the major issues, and then once those
are settled, it really gives all sides a good idea
of how the rest of the cases are going to
play out. As I said earlier, if the plaintiffs win,
(27:13):
that gives a signal to the defendant the company that
looks bad for us. We ought to get into settlement
negotiations with everyone else. But if the defendant wins, if
the company wins, that should be good news for the
company and bad news for the plaintiffs in that you're
probably not going to win because these cases that really
have the same general types of facts that your case have.
(27:37):
Has those cases failed, you're probably not going to succeed
when those other cases have failed.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
It's definitely an interesting story that we are tracking this morning.
We'll keep an eye on and see what the North
Carolina Supreme Court has to say about it. We appreciate
the details this morning. Mitch Koki from the John Locke
Foundation joins us Son the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's
five point fifty two. Good morning again. Welcome back to
(28:05):
the Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety nine
three WBT. While we are continuing to track the ongoing
rift between Republicans in the North Carolina House and Senate.
As we sit here heading towards the end of the
month of October, we still are without a full state budget,
and it would appear that the ostallmate is continuing in Raleigh.
(28:29):
An interesting press release yesterday from a Senate leader Phil
Berger's press department reads as follows. Last week, the North
Carolina House of Representatives forced the Senate to return four
ineligible bills after nonpartisan staff attorneys determined they could not
be considered under the General assemblies agreed upon adjournment resolution.
(28:53):
Beyond just being ineligible for consideration, the quartet of bills
propose additional problems. First, the House's unprecedented budget gimmick plunges
the state into deficit spending by appropriating more than two
billion dollars in total, the four bills would result in
nearly six hundred million dollars worth of reoccurring at deficit
(29:16):
spending during the fiscal biennium. Beyond the irresponsible spending, the
House's proposal breaks the joint budget agreement made between the
two chambers back in April by exceeding the spending cap
by hundreds of millions of dollars and exhausting the resources
necessary to replenish our state's rainy day Fund. Senate Appropriations
(29:40):
Chairman Brent Jackson, the Republican from Samson, Ralph Heist, the
Republican from Mitchell, and Michael Leeb, the Republican from New
Hanover set in a joint quote from Senate Leader Phil
Berger's press office quote, it is our duty to pass
a responsible, balanced budget bringing forth bills that cannot be
considered and intentionally busting our state's budget is nothing more
(30:04):
than a political stunt. So again important to note here
you have Republicans in control in both chambers in the
House and the Senate. Obviously former House Speaker and Tim
Moore moving up to Washington, d C. Running for Congress.
That caused House Speaker now current House Speaker Destin Hall
(30:25):
to rise to the position that he is in, and
it is from maya vantage point, and talking to some
folks about this yesterday, very odd to see a statement
like this coming out from the North Carolina General Assembly
from the Senate trashing the House or vice versa, again,
as both of these chambers are exclusively controlled by the GOP.
(30:47):
As we look at this going forward, it would appear
that the idea of getting a full set by any
budget at this point would seemingly be incredibly low. As
this a stall does continue. We did see last week
lawmakers approve another mini budget that included predominantly a lot
(31:08):
more spending out in western North Carolina, as recovery and
relief efforts for Hurricane Helene do continue in portions of
western North Carolina. There were some other things in that
mini budget as well, including some increases in pay for
certain state employees, but it was not a full on
extensive budget like you would expect to see here in
(31:32):
North Carolina. So if this stallmate is going to continue with,
which would seemingly be the case as this statement was
released just yesterday evening by Senate Leader Phil Berger's press office,
we will not be getting a full buy any budget,
at least not by the end of this calendar. Gear
It is possible, however, as a lawmaker's gavel back in
(31:54):
in early twenty twenty six, they get back to the
negotiating table and get a full budget. Don't know that
I'd necessarily hold my breath on that. We'll continue to
follow the so called budget progress if there is any
over on our website this morning at Carolina Journal dot com.
Recapping some of our big political stories this morning across
(32:17):
the state. A couple of ilegal challenges against new congressional
maps drawn by the Republican that led General Assembly. You've
got to the state Conference of the NAACP Common Cause
and another set of plaintiffs working with Democrat operative Mark
Elias's law firm that are looking to challenge the new
(32:39):
congressional map drawn by the legislature last week at the
exact same time, the State Board of Elections is asking
the court to keep in mind a December the first
twenty twenty five deadline, which would only be about five
week four to five weeks from now, as an administrative
deadline for the State Board of Elections to make sure
(33:00):
that they can properly open candidate filing in mid December
of this year, as there will could potentially have to
be midterm election primary elections, I should say, for some
of these races coming up in March of next year
ahead of that general election taking place in November. We
will keep our eyes on these two lawsuits, the commentary
(33:24):
from the State Board of Elections and the Republican led
to General Assembly, as all of them have filed some
sort of illegal briefing over the last couple of days.
You can also read some additional coverage on that this
morning over on our website, Carolina Journal dot com. That's
going to do it for a Tuesday edition. WBT News
is next, followed by Good Morning BT. We're back with
(33:45):
you tomorrow morning five to six right here on News
Talk eleven, ten and ninety nine to three WBT
It's five oh five, A good Tuesday morning to you,
and welcome into the Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven,
ten ninety nine three WBT. I'm Nicked Craig, A good
morning to you well. As predicted by many that followed
the redistricting battle that took place last week in the
North Carolina General Assembly, legal challenges have begun to fly
(00:29):
in both federal and state court in North Carolina. Let's
start off here, plaintiffs in an existing North Carolina federal
redistinct redistricting lawsuit want to supplement their existing complaint to
cover the state's new congressional maps. The plaintiffs, working with
Democrat operative Mark Elias's law firm, filed paperwork to challenge
(00:51):
the new maps late last week, right after they were
officially approved by the North Carolina General Assembly. A three
judge panel held a trial this summer in two consolidated
cases challenging North Carolina's twenty twenty three congressional and legislative
election maps. That panel has not yet issued a ruling
(01:12):
in that case now, however, the plaintiffs in one of
the suits, identified as Williams versus Blackwell, are asking the judges'
permission to file a supplemental complaint. That forty seven page
document challenges the congressional maps that the Republican led General
Assembly approved last week under Senate Bill two forty nine.
(01:34):
State legislative leaders defending the congressional maps quote do not
oppose the motion for a supplemental complaint, according to a
new court filing. Reading through some of the legal documents
and some of the back and forth between some of
the parties in here, the complaint reads as follows. North
(01:55):
Carolina gained a congressional district after the twenty twenty census
almost entirely due to an increase in the state's minority population,
but the General Assembly has gone to great lengths to
ensure that the increase in minority population does not translate
into any increase in minority electoral opportunity. In a service
(02:16):
of successive redistricting maps, the General Assembly has systematically rolled
back minority voting strength across the state. The complaint goes
on to say Senate Bill two forty nine repeats the
constitutional violations of the twenty twenty three plan, unconstitutionally diluting
black voting strength in the Piedmont Triad in Mecklenburg, and
(02:40):
then doubles down on them by further dismantling the first
congressional district, a historic black opportunity district in the northeastern
part of the state. It reads, quote ced one, referring
to Congressional District one is home to many heavily black counties,
including several that compose North Carolin Line is black belt,
(03:01):
which has played an outsized role in the state's civil
right history. The twenty twenty five plan was designed to
prevent that from happening. The plaintiff's lawyers wrote, reading that
the plan dismantles the black opportunity that district Congressional District
one has by moving several counties with significant black populations
(03:22):
out of the district and into Congressional District three, trading
them for severely primarily white counties, diluting the black vote
in both districts. Under the twenty twenty five plan, the
complaint reads, black voters are extremely unlikely to elect a
candidate of their choice in either district. The complaint rejects
(03:43):
the notion that the changes were a quote mere side
effect of a partisan jerrymander, with one of the plaintiffs
writing whenever the General Assembly partisan aims to do, they
have once again chosen to target black neighborhoods and communities
to each achieve them. The Fourth Circuit has made it
clear that while using race as a proxy for party
(04:06):
may be an effective way to win an election, a
state legislator acting on such motivation engages in intentional racial
discrimination in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Voting
Rights Act. The complaint also argues that the new maps
violate the First Amendment and Equal Protection Clause of the
(04:27):
United States Constitution. That court filing late last week, arrived
a day after a three judge panel overseeing the two
redistricting lawsuits asked parties in the case for informations about
the impact of the new congressional maps that were approved
by the North Carolina General Assembly. US Appeal Court Judge
(04:48):
Allison Jones Rushing and US District Judge Richard Myers conducted
a six day trial covering both cases this summer. Republican
presidents appointed all three judges. The judges wrote in a
text order last week, quote, the North Carolina General Assembly
has enacted Senate Bill two forty nine into law, which
(05:11):
creates a new congressional map for the state of North Carolina.
The parties are directed to file briefs no more than
ten pages by five pm on Monday, October twenty seventh,
That was yesterday, addressing the effects of this development, including
potential mootness on the claim submitted to this court and
in these consolidated cases. So you've got that legal challenge
(05:35):
that is taking a place already an ongoing legal challenge
in some congressional maps and maps covering the North Carolina
General Assembly. And with that well, the North Carolina State
Board of Elections is telling courts that they need to
have legal issues surrounding these congressional maps finalized by December
(05:56):
the first of this year to avoid administrative delay for
the twenty twenty six election. You might be wondering why
that is the case. While candidate filing for these congressional
districts the newly redrawn first and third district are taking
place in early December. That is when candidates will have
(06:17):
to file all of the proper paperwork with either a
local or state board of election of course federal paperwork
with the Federal Election Commission to be eligible to run
in those contests. A primary if there is one in
any of those congressional races will take place in March
of next year, and will of course all wrap up
(06:38):
in November of next year with a general election. The
Election Board indicated that it takes no position on the
impact of new maps or on the ongoing Consolidated Federal
redistricting lawsuit, nor does the board take position on the
redistricting plaintiffs request to add a new map to the
existing court dispute. However, they are The lawyers for the
(07:02):
State Board wrote, as the State Board has previously stated
in this case, if changes to current district maps are
made as a result of this litigation, the impact on
the elections calendar will depend on the scope and timing
of such order to accommodate changes to the current map
without delaying any administrative dates or deadlines for ballot preparation
(07:25):
and distribution for the March twenty twenty six primary, the
State Board would need to receive the new map by
December the first, twenty twenty five, which is approximately six
weeks before absentee voting is set to begin for the
March primary. As I mentioned that this is in response
to those plaintiffs working with Democrat operative Mark Elias's law
(07:50):
firm who challenged some of these maps, or at least
filed paperwork late last week to try and challenge this
new map as it relates to the first and third
congressional district both of those in northeastern North Carolina or
eastern North Carolina, depending on the area that you are
looking at. That forty seven page document challenges those maps
(08:13):
that the General Assembly approved through Senate Bill to forty nine.
So looking at what is expected to come up in
the coming weeks and months as it relates to these
this new congressional map, these two new congressional districts drawn
by the North Carolina General Assembly. We do have this
one ongoing lawsuit that is looking like it will be
(08:35):
amended to add the new congressional maps part of Senate
Bill two forty nine approved by the North Carolina General Assembly.
We also have some new information this morning coming in
from the State Conference of the NAACP and Common Cause
who are hoping to challenge some of those maps as well.
So we are again as predicted as we chatted with
(08:57):
experts including doctor Andy Jackson and from the John Lock Foundation,
that there would likely be some significant legal challenges against
the maps drawn by the Republican led General Assembly. The
million dollar question this morning, will any of these legal
challenges garner any significant support from the courts ahead of
(09:18):
this early December deadline when candidate filing opens. It seemingly
would indicate that once that candidate filing opens, it will
be very hard for the courts to step in and
either block or stop those maps that go into effect.
As we have seen in years past, these legal challenges
over maps, whether we're talking about congressional maps North Carolina
(09:41):
House or Senate maps, lawsuits can take quite some time,
and it is something that is potentially likely to roll
out well after the election that will take place in
November of next year. We'll get into some details on
this NAACP common cause legal challenge as well up here.
In just a couple of minutes. It's five twenty one.
(10:08):
Welcome back to the Carolina Journal news Our Newstock eleven
ten ninety nine three WBT, continuing our coverage this morning
of some legal challenges against congressional maps drawn by the
North Carolina General Assembly last week. Extensive coverage here on
the Carolina Journal News Hour. If you missed our shows
last week, would encourage you to go and check out
the Carolina Journal News Hour podcast. Spend a lot of
(10:31):
time hearing from lawmakers, members of the public, and individuals
again on both sides of the political aisle debating the
new congressional map in Raleigh last week. Contrary to some
of the accusations from groups and from lawmakers, the Republican
led General Assembly was successful and able to move forward
(10:52):
with approving the new map, which will make changes and
shift around some of the counties in both the first
and third congressional Those are in the northeast and eastern
half of our state. Unlike a regular legislation that you
see work its way through the North Carolina General Assembly,
Democrat governor and Josh Stein does not have the ability
(11:13):
and did not have the ability to block or veto
or stop those maps from going into effect. Once both
the House and Senate approved them, which they did last week,
they did officially go into effect. That has prompted some
of these new legal challenges. The second one that we're
following this morning, the North Carolina State Conference of the
NAACP and Common Cause hope to challenge the new map
(11:36):
as well as part of an existing federal redistricting lawsuit.
According to a court filing Monday afternoon. A three judge
panel conducted a six day trial this summer combining to
lawsuits that challenged North Carolina's congressional and legislative maps that
were used in last year's election. As we've talked about,
(11:56):
the panel has not yet issued a decision in that case.
One set of plaintiffs, working with Democrat operative Mark Elias's
law firm and a case titled Williams Versus Blackwell, had
already filed a request to file a supplemental complaint targeting
the congressional maps. As we just talked about, those maps
are tied to Senate Bill two forty nine and redraw
(12:19):
two eastern North Carolina congressional districts, both with the nude
redraw are designed to elect Republicans, hopefully for the GOP as.
What they're trying to do is give themselves an eleven
to three majority in the North in the state House,
a delegation that is sent from North Carolina to Washington, DC.
(12:40):
That would mean a net gain of one seat for
Republicans in Raleigh. Now, the second set of plaintiffs in
the case of NAACP Versus Burger, wrote an a legal
challenge on Monday quote an intent to file in short
order a motion for leave to supplement their first Amendment
complaint appending a proposed supplemental complaint setting forth allegations related
(13:05):
to the enactment of Senate Bill two forty nine and
challenging the mid Day mid decade redrawing and configuration of
Congressional Districts one and three. According it to the court filing,
lawyers in the case wrote, as will be set forth
in a proposed supplemental complaint, the changes in Senate Bill
(13:26):
two forty nine have caused a significant drop in the
black voting age population of Congressional District I. As a
consequenced and as demonstrated by past electual data, it is
unlikely that black voters will overcome the extreme white block
voting in this area to successfully elect a candidate of
(13:47):
their choice under this new, even more diluted configuration. The
court filing continued by saying, since the enactment of Senate
Bill two forty nine has only furthered and indeed worse
in the same allegation of voting dilution and harm caused
by the twenty twenty three Congressional Plan as identified in
(14:08):
the First Amendment complaint, this case is not moot. The
Williams plaintiffs, as we covered, filed a separate brief on
Monday as well, arguing that the case is also not moot,
meaning that they believe that it's got some legs and
it is an important part of their ongoing legal challenge.
Republican legislative leaders are defending the challenge congressional districts and
(14:30):
legislative maps in court. They agreed in a brief on
Monday that most of the case quote remains live and
ripe for adjudication. GOP lawmakers argue that the originals a
lawsuit challenges to District one, however, are in fact now moot,
but legislative leaders issued no objection to the plaintiff's challenges
(14:52):
of the new District one in a supplemental complaint. So
you've got a couple of different parties going in and
jumping in on this case. You've got the NAACP and
Common Cause. You've got a group of individuals working with
Democrat operative Mark Elias, who has made a strong name
for himself over the last couple of decades, now going
(15:15):
around to various states across the country, and engaging in
legal challenges as it relates to redistricting, which is exactly
what you saw here in North Carolina last week. And
you also have the North Carolina General Assembly who filed
legal paperwork on Monday saying that this case does remain
alive and well and has no serious objections to these
(15:37):
new legal challenges being brought forth. All of this ahead
of a deadline. According to the North Carolina State Board
of Elections, they are asking the courts to have any
potential temporary stays or any other sort of legal challenges
they at least resolved in some part by December, the
(15:58):
first of this year, coming out up in just a
four weeks or so, as they do everything in their
power to make sure that the administrative deadline is held
in place. As I mentioned earlier, candidate filing for these
two new congressional districts one and three will take place
in early and mid December. That is why the State
(16:20):
Board is asking for some of these new maps or
new or I should say new maps singular their new map,
or any sort of challenges from the court to be
dealt with by that December, the first deadline, if not
presumably candidate filing will open in mid December, and once
those candidate file, it would be seemingly very hard to
(16:42):
put the genie back in the bottle and stop that process. However,
I'll note we have seen something similar in the past,
back in twenty twenty two, so it is something that
we are going to keep a very close eye on.
We'll be chatting with experts from the John Locke Foundation
and Carolina j dot com in the coming weeks as
we get additional details from either of the parties in
(17:05):
this court, whether it's the NAACP, Common Cause, Mark Elias
or the North Carolina General Assembly. We have a pretty
extensive coverage this morning on all of these different legal
challenges over on our website, Carolina Journal dot com. A
couple of those story headlines if you'd like to go
and read some more. NAACP to add new NC congressional
(17:27):
map to existing lawsuit. That's one of our top stories.
Another election board seeks December first resolution of congressional map dispute,
and the third Elias link plaintiffs seek to challenge new
North Carolina congressional maps. Continued coverage and more information available
this morning over on our website, Carolina Journal dot com.
(17:53):
It's five thirty six. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal
News Hour news Stock eleven, ten ninety nine to three
wb TEA focusing on some national news this morning. The
government shutdown does continue in Washington, DC this morning. In
the North Carolina, Democrat Party is releasing a statement as
it relates to that government shutdown, writing in part, nearly
(18:16):
a month ago, Republicans shut down the government to avoid
fixing the healthcare disaster they created. Now they're threatening to
stop food assistance programs during the shutdown, keeping nearly forty
million Americans from having secure access to meals. In North Carolina.
This means approximately six hundred thousand children and a total
(18:38):
of one point four million people across our state will
have difficulty putting meals on their table every night, and
let alone for Thanksgiving. Our country cannot continue along this path.
It's never been more clear that DC Republicans have lost
their sense of priorities. Last week, Trump gave Argentina forty
(18:58):
billion dollars, and this they're claiming they can't afford to
make sure families can eat. Lifelines that are literally keeping
families in North Carolina fed are not pawns that Trump
can use to force his agenda down our throats. It's
time for them to responsibly open the government and sure
snap benefits go out on time, and extend the Affordable
(19:19):
Care Act subsidies so that nearly a million working people
in North Carolina don't see their insurance premiums double in
the next week. Obviously, the government shutdown has been a
major political topic. This, of course a statement coming directly
from the North Carolina Democrat parties. How the Democrat Party, however,
the Republican Party and Republicans in Washington, DC, including individuals
(19:44):
like House Speaker Mike Johnson Senate Leader Ah john Thune,
continue to point the finger at Democrats who have now
failed in the United States, a Senate have over more
than a dozen attempts to reopen the government. Democrats' goal
here is to relitigate some of the ongoings from the
One Big Beautiful Bill that passed in July of this year.
(20:06):
They want to change healthcare subsidies that were already codified
in law there including adding a billions of dollars worth
of support to things like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, again,
things that were already stripped away due to the One
Big Beautiful Bill All eyes will once again be on Washington,
d C this week as we get closer to the
(20:27):
end of the week and roll the calendar over into November.
This is currently the second longest government shutdown that has
ever taken place in US history. From a Republican standpoint
of watching and listening to some of the commentary last
week as Senators made their way to the White House
Rose Garden for luncheon, it does not appear that Republicans
(20:48):
are going to move on any of the points that
Democrats want to add to this ongoing shutdown and say
they need to change to reopen the government. Same thing
on the other side of the aisle, Democrats do not
seem willing to move off of any of the points
that they are fighting for as well. So the stallmate
does continue in Washington, d C. We will continue to
(21:11):
attract the progress there, and the North Carolina Connection will
continue to provide you details and updates right here on
the Carolina Journal News Hour where it's now five point
thirty nine and News Talk eleven ten ninety nine to
three WBT. Multiple lawsuits against the former owner of a
tire factory in Charlotte could have some broader implications in
(21:31):
the business community across the state of North Carolina. To
walk us through some of those details. This morning, Mitch
Kochi the John Locke Foundation joins us on the Carolina
Journal News Hour. Mitch, we talked about lawsuits so pretty regularly.
Sometimes they're very narrow in individual cases and individual companies
and people, and then other times we've got lawsuits that, yes,
are focused on one person or one company, but they
(21:52):
could have a broader reach across many other industries in
North Carolina. What are you following out of Charlotte this morning.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
This is a case that's more than a decade in
the making. What happened was this former tire factory owned
by Continental Tire. Years ago, about one hundred and fifty
different people connected to that plant filed suit saying that
they were exposed to asbestos at the plant and it
caused them health problems. And so what happened was, as
(22:21):
these various suits were filed, the plaintiffs in the case
and the company decided that they would put together a
handful of representative cases what's called bell Weather cases to
sort of sort out the major issues of the case.
And then the bell Weather cases would help determine what
was going to happen with all of the rest of
(22:41):
the suits. As the Continental Tire folks focused on in
their latest briefing in this case, they said, the idea was,
if the plaintiffs lose in the Bell Weather cases, then
that's going to really rule out anyone else being able
to win. If the plains, then that's the signal to
other plaintiffs and to the company that we're probably going
(23:05):
to lose. The company's probably going to lose the rest
of these so I ought to start thinking about settling
these cases. Well, what happened was, as this case move,
as the various cases move forward, the Court Tribunal overseeing
the Industrial Commission overseeing the initial Bell Weather cases ruled
(23:25):
against the plaintiffs, saying that there was not enough evidence
that there was asbestos present at a level that would
have caused any health problems for these plaintiffs. The North
Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed that ruling, and what Continental
Tire is saying is that should have basically ended the case.
(23:45):
But what happened was a handful of plaintiffs, and by
a handful of talking about thirteen out of the initial
one hundred and fifty continued to press their case, saying
that the bell Weather cases didn't address all of the
issues in their particular concerns and complaints. They went forward
the Industrial Commission throughout their cases, saying, no, we've gone
(24:10):
through the Bellweather cases, you can't move forward. They appealed
once again to the State Court of Appeals, and this
time rather than affirming the Industrial Commission, the Court of
Appeals split two to one, and the two judges on
the majority said that the cases could go forward. They said,
these bell Weather cases did not say that these plaintiffs
(24:31):
could not press their claims. They can go forward. One
judge descended. The judge who descended was the chief Judge,
Chris Dillon, said, look, the bell Weather cases have decided
the main issues. This litigation should be over. So now
as the cases are scheduled to move forward, the thirteen
cases remaining out of the initial one hundred and fifty
(24:52):
or so, Continental Tire is appealing to the North Carolina
Supreme Court. They've filed a petition saying, look, Supreme Court,
please take these cases because you need to settle whether
this bell Weather principle is going to survive in the future.
If it's not going to work. If plaintiffs are not
(25:13):
going to abide by what the bell Weather cases say,
then why would anyone ever do this? Again, it's the
whole thing is designed to simplify this legal process, and
they make the larger argument that this could have a
potential negative impact on North Carolina's business climate. They've talked
about some of the things that help the business climate,
beyond things like taxes and regulatory reform. There is the
(25:36):
idea of having an Industrial Commission, there is the idea
of having a business court that deals with business issues.
And one of the other things that's part of this
is being allowed to have bell Weather cases when you
have multiple plaintiffs filing suit, and if that piece of
the process falls short, that's going to hurt North Carolina's
business climate. Now, of course, this is the argument that
(25:57):
the tire company is making to try to help stave
off these lawsuits, so they have definitely have skin in
the game. But it is an interesting piece of North
Carolina's legal puzzle and it will be interesting to see
whether the North Carolina Supreme Court decides to take the
case because of those arguments.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
So, Mitch, as you talk about these these Bell Weather cases.
Do these only come forward when you've got a large
group of potential plaintiffs In the case you mentioned around
one hundred and fifty or so employees. Is that typically
when you see these these bell Weather cases in North Carolina?
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Yes. And I don't know the details of how many
plaintiffs you would have to have before you'd start considering
bell Weather cases, but certainly it has to be a
large enough number that it makes sense to pick a
handful of representative cases to deal with rather than the
whole range of cases. And certainly it would seem to
make sense when you have about one hundred and fifty
(26:52):
of them, that you would not want to have one
hundred and fifty separate trials, that you would try to
pick a handful of cases that really cover most, if
not all, of the major issues, and then once those
are settled, it really gives all sides a good idea
of how the rest of the cases are going to
play out. As I said earlier, if the plaintiffs win,
(27:13):
that gives a signal to the defendant the company that
looks bad for us. We ought to get into settlement
negotiations with everyone else. But if the defendant wins, if
the company wins, that should be good news for the
company and bad news for the plaintiffs in that you're
probably not going to win because these cases that really
have the same general types of facts that your case have.
(27:37):
Has those cases failed, you're probably not going to succeed
when those other cases have failed.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
It's definitely an interesting story that we are tracking this morning.
We'll keep an eye on and see what the North
Carolina Supreme Court has to say about it. We appreciate
the details this morning. Mitch Koki from the John Locke
Foundation joins us Son the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's
five point fifty two. Good morning again. Welcome back to
(28:05):
the Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety nine
three WBT. While we are continuing to track the ongoing
rift between Republicans in the North Carolina House and Senate.
As we sit here heading towards the end of the
month of October, we still are without a full state budget,
and it would appear that the ostallmate is continuing in Raleigh.
(28:29):
An interesting press release yesterday from a Senate leader Phil
Berger's press department reads as follows. Last week, the North
Carolina House of Representatives forced the Senate to return four
ineligible bills after nonpartisan staff attorneys determined they could not
be considered under the General assemblies agreed upon adjournment resolution.
(28:53):
Beyond just being ineligible for consideration, the quartet of bills
propose additional problems. First, the House's unprecedented budget gimmick plunges
the state into deficit spending by appropriating more than two
billion dollars in total, the four bills would result in
nearly six hundred million dollars worth of reoccurring at deficit
(29:16):
spending during the fiscal biennium. Beyond the irresponsible spending, the
House's proposal breaks the joint budget agreement made between the
two chambers back in April by exceeding the spending cap
by hundreds of millions of dollars and exhausting the resources
necessary to replenish our state's rainy day Fund. Senate Appropriations
(29:40):
Chairman Brent Jackson, the Republican from Samson, Ralph Heist, the
Republican from Mitchell, and Michael Leeb, the Republican from New
Hanover set in a joint quote from Senate Leader Phil
Berger's press office quote, it is our duty to pass
a responsible, balanced budget bringing forth bills that cannot be
considered and intentionally busting our state's budget is nothing more
(30:04):
than a political stunt. So again important to note here
you have Republicans in control in both chambers in the
House and the Senate. Obviously former House Speaker and Tim
Moore moving up to Washington, d C. Running for Congress.
That caused House Speaker now current House Speaker Destin Hall
(30:25):
to rise to the position that he is in, and
it is from maya vantage point, and talking to some
folks about this yesterday, very odd to see a statement
like this coming out from the North Carolina General Assembly
from the Senate trashing the House or vice versa, again,
as both of these chambers are exclusively controlled by the GOP.
(30:47):
As we look at this going forward, it would appear
that the idea of getting a full set by any
budget at this point would seemingly be incredibly low. As
this a stall does continue. We did see last week
lawmakers approve another mini budget that included predominantly a lot
(31:08):
more spending out in western North Carolina, as recovery and
relief efforts for Hurricane Helene do continue in portions of
western North Carolina. There were some other things in that
mini budget as well, including some increases in pay for
certain state employees, but it was not a full on
extensive budget like you would expect to see here in
(31:32):
North Carolina. So if this stallmate is going to continue with,
which would seemingly be the case as this statement was
released just yesterday evening by Senate Leader Phil Berger's press office,
we will not be getting a full buy any budget,
at least not by the end of this calendar. Gear
It is possible, however, as a lawmaker's gavel back in
(31:54):
in early twenty twenty six, they get back to the
negotiating table and get a full budget. Don't know that
I'd necessarily hold my breath on that. We'll continue to
follow the so called budget progress if there is any
over on our website this morning at Carolina Journal dot com.
Recapping some of our big political stories this morning across
(32:17):
the state. A couple of ilegal challenges against new congressional
maps drawn by the Republican that led General Assembly. You've
got to the state Conference of the NAACP Common Cause
and another set of plaintiffs working with Democrat operative Mark
Elias's law firm that are looking to challenge the new
(32:39):
congressional map drawn by the legislature last week at the
exact same time, the State Board of Elections is asking
the court to keep in mind a December the first
twenty twenty five deadline, which would only be about five
week four to five weeks from now, as an administrative
deadline for the State Board of Elections to make sure
(33:00):
that they can properly open candidate filing in mid December
of this year, as there will could potentially have to
be midterm election primary elections, I should say, for some
of these races coming up in March of next year
ahead of that general election taking place in November. We
will keep our eyes on these two lawsuits, the commentary
(33:24):
from the State Board of Elections and the Republican led
to General Assembly, as all of them have filed some
sort of illegal briefing over the last couple of days.
You can also read some additional coverage on that this
morning over on our website, Carolina Journal dot com. That's
going to do it for a Tuesday edition. WBT News
is next, followed by Good Morning BT. We're back with
(33:45):
you tomorrow morning five to six right here on News
Talk eleven, ten and ninety nine to three WBT
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