Opinion Roundup: Midterm elections, undecided voters, key races to watch and more

Monday, Nov. 5, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Voting rights, key races to watch in Tuesday’s midterm elections, the six constitutional amendments, lack of reliable transportation holds people back, plane with 'restore Silent Sam' banner seen flying over Butner, NC’s new stance on climate change, facing hurricane recovery outside of the spotlight and more.

MICHAEL WINES & DANNY HAKIM: In midterms, the right to vote still at Issue, Too (New York Times reports) -- Nathaniel Persily, a Stanford University law professor and elections scholar, said what was going on reflected a shift -- from a belief in shared rules of democracy -- toward one that sees elections as struggles for power “in which you need to push up against the rules to win. ... We’ve reached a situation in which the fight over the rules and who gets to vote is seen as a legitimate part of electoral competition.”

MICHAEL WINES & DANNY HAKIM: Four fights Over voting rights (New York Times reports) -- When North Carolina’s Republican legislature ordered all early-voting sites to stay open 12 hours a day for 18 days this year, they called it a move to boost voting. It’s not turning out that way.

KATHERINE STEWART: God’s Red Army (New York Times column) -- The Christian nationalist turnout machine relies heavily on an extensive network of conservative pastors. The Family Research Council, for example, runs “pastor briefings” through its organization Watchmen on the Wall, which claimed 28,000 members in 2014. At a Watchmen pastors briefing in Unionville, N.C., on Oct. 4, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said: “The members of your congregation need to vote. As pastors, you need to — I’m not going to say ‘challenge them’ — you need to tell them to vote.”

EMILY BADGER, QUOCTRUNG BUI & CLAIRE CAIN MILLER: How 10 Undecided Voters Made Up Their Minds (New York Times reports) -- This week, we talked to more than two dozen of them to learn if they had since decided, and how. Nearly all of them had been reaching for some criteria other than pure partisanship. … TOM VIDOVICH; 74, retired city manager; Lexington, N.C.; N.C.’s 13th District; Voting for Democrat, Kathy Manning: Mr. Vidovich, a registered Democrat, called the office of the Republican congressman Ted Budd to ask if he would publicly pledge to oppose any health care legislation threatening protections for pre-existing conditions. “His office said he had not made that public declaration,” Mr. Vidovich said. “Once I discovered that — and plus, he seems to be more of a supporter of Trump than I am — those two things declared for me I’m not voting for him.” ADA SANCHEZ; 61, on disability; High Point, N.C.; N.C.’s 13th District; Voting for Democrat, Kathy Manning: Ms. Sanchez, a lifelong Republican, says she has given up on her party. “I switched when the Looney Tunes took over,” she said. “They lost control, so from now on, I’m just going to be voting Democrat and see where the chips fall, you know?”

DANNY DOUGHERTY & JOSHUA JAMERSON: Key Races to Watch in Tuesday’s Midterm Elections (Wall Street Journal reports) -- A string of East Coast races could be early indicators on which party will win the battle for control of the U.S. House, while the fight for the U.S. Senate runs through a slate of tossup states in later time zones. Here’s your guide to watching the results roll in on Election Day.

MICHAEL BITZER: It's All Over...Except for Election Day's Votes in NC: An Analysis of 2018's NC Early Voters (Old North State Politics blog) -- Early voting has ended in N.C., and the numbers are beyond impressive. Why "impressive"? Because the Old North State is in its 'blue-moon' election cycle for the 2018 mid-term. With N.C. governor's races held in presidential years and neither of the two U.S. Senate races being contested this year, there isn't a major contest that draws substantial attention from across the state.

FRANK TAYLOR: Early voters flocked to polls in North Carolina counties (Carolina Public Press reports) -- N.C. voters turned out early in massive numbers, more than 2 million, compared with the early voting turnout for the last midterm elections in 2014, according to the state Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement. The state elections agency released data over the weekend providing a detailed breakdown of how many people have voted in each county. Statewide, 2.04 million out of 7.09 million registered voters have cast ballots so far, about 28.8 percent.

Early voting numbers strong ahead of Election Day Tuesday (Hendersonville Times-News reports) -- Friday afternoon, with just a few hours left for early voting, Henderson County had more than eclipsed the number of ballots cast during early voting in the last midterm election in 2014. Officials were expecting about 25,000 total early voters through Saturday.

It’s time to vote (Fayetteville Observer) -- Interest in this year’s mid-term elections is high across the country, and certainly here in North Carolina. Turnout for early voting is much higher than in the last mid-terms. There’s no single reason for that, although President Trump is right, to some degree, when he says the election is about him. But it’s about much more than that.

Reject the six constitutional amendments (Winston-Salem Journal) -- On this year’s ballot the state legislature has included six proposed constitutional amendments, each of which would make almost indelible changes to our state’s primary governing document.

Reject all 6 ballot questions (Fayetteville Observer) -- The N.C. Constitution deserves more respect than this. Like the nation’s Constitution, it represents the beliefs of our founders and core principles that have endured for centuries. It certainly should be amended from time to time, to reflect our present-day needs. But those changes should be thoughtful and careful, the product of extensive deliberation and debate — and discussion that represents the interests of all North Carolina.

TAFT WIREBACK: Guilford County's 2 U.S. House races have completely different profiles (Greensboro News & Record reports) -- Experts depict one Greensboro-area congressional race as ho hum, the other a possible nail-biter.

ZEYNEP TUFEKCI: The election has already been hacked (New York Times column) -- As the 2018 midterm election nears, an ominous question looms: Will this election be hacked? The answer is: Yes, it has already been hacked. This election has already been hacked even if not a single voting machine has been compromised. It has already been hacked even if not another ruble has been spent on spreading disinformation. It has already been hacked even if voter registration information has been undisturbed and no vote tallies are altered. Why? Because the legitimacy of an election depends on the electorate accepting that it was fair, that everyone who tried to vote got to vote and that every vote counted. Lose that, and your voting system might as well have suffered a devastating technological attack. Unfortunately, in much of the United States, we are no longer able to assure people that none of those things has happened.

SCOTT JASCHIK: Liberty U Sells Student Email Addresses to Campaign (Inside Higher Ed) -- Liberty University has sold university-owned lists of student email addresses to the campaign of Corey Stewart, a Republican running for the U.S. Senate in Virginia, The News & Advance reported. The article noted that while many entities buy and sell email addresses, it is apparently unusual for a nonprofit college to sell such names to a political campaign. Liberty officials said that there was nothing wrong with the sale because it would do the same for other politicians, regardless of political views.

Vote no on amendments, partisan maneuvering (Hickory Daily Record) -- Voters should reject six proposed amendments to our state constitution. Why we believe that: The state constitution is the foremost legal document in North Carolina. This is not a document that should be subject to the whims of political winds. Our elected leaders should take great care before suggesting changes.

DOUGLAS KEITH: It’s time to stop electing judges (Route 50 column) -- Our current election system judges in many states is overrun with wealthy special interests that air “dark money” attack ads to get their preferred candidate on the court. As a result, states are picking judges based not only on votes, but based in part on how much anonymous financial support will come to their aid. This is a worst-case scenario for ensuring fair and impartial courts: the political pressures on judges remain, and the public doesn’t get the full picture. The conflicts of interest that arise when big campaign supporters appear in cases before the judges they supported can create the appearance—and sometimes the reality—of bias.

N.C. ELECTIONS BOARD: 10 tips for voters on Election Day (Wilmington Star News column) — The State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement offers the following 10 tips for voters as they head to the polls on Election Day – Tuesday, November 6.

It’s time to vote (Fayetteville Observer) — Interest in this year’s mid-term elections is high across the country, and certainly here in NC. Turnout for early voting is much higher than in the last mid-terms. There’s no single reason for that, although President Trump is right, to some degree, when he says the election is about him. But it’s about much more than that.

ANDREW CARTER: More than 2M people in NC have voted. Here’s a snapshot of who’s voted and where (Charlotte Observer reports) — The state’s all-but-final early-voting statistics — some of the data is still trickling in — reflect a heightened interest among voters compared to the last non-presidential election in 2014.

DESIREE MILLER: Why women like me support Donald Trump (Charlotte Observer column) — I am often questioned about how, as a woman, I could possibly support President Trump. My response is, “Why wouldn’t I?” Millions of women support Trump. See for yourself at any Trump rally.

Voter ID is still a bad idea (Winston-Salem Journal) — On the surface, photo ID sounds harmless and even sensible. Who doesn’t have a picture ID? Many, it turns out. More than 218,733 in NC, 55 percent of who are Democrats and 26 percent unaffiliated, compared to 19 percent Republican, according to information obtained by Democracy NC.

ANTIONETTE KERR: NC Voters Won't Be Fooled by Political Ads (Public News Service reports) — Kaiser polling shows Americans across the political spectrum support protections for pre-existing conditions, including 75 percent of Independents and 58 percent of Republicans.

GINGER LIVINGSTON: Democratic Party leader responds to allegation (Greenville Daily Reflector reports) — The state’s top Democratic Party leader said he’s giving his endorsement to the party’s candidate for Pitt County district attorney, saying a criminal complaint brought against him last month was nothing but a political attack.

Pitt County races offer quality candidates, choices (Greenville Daily Reflector) — Pitt County is fortunate to have a ballot full of fine candidates running for elected office on Tuesday. Women and men have put their names forth to produce contested races for almost every seat. The races offer contrasts in style, personality and direction.

BYRON WILLIAMS: Committed to liberty and equality (Winston-Salem Journal column) — On the surface, there is nothing controversial about a country already committed to liberty and equality in theory seeking to amend the Constitution guaranteeing all American citizens due process and equal protection of its laws. It is, however, in the first word of the 14th Amendment where the tension lies: all.

FRED GUTTMAN: Pittsburgh tragedy: ‘Some are guilty but all are responsible’ (Greensboro News & Record column) — In 1790 in his letter to the Jews of Newport, R.I., President George Washington wrote: “To bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.” The Jewish community of America has always viewed this country as a beacon of liberty and freedom, a safe haven for all those escaping religious persecution.

WILLIAM WEST: Elaine Marshall says U.S., Currituck history connected (Elizabeth City Daily Advance reports) -- N.C. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall on Saturday said she believes Currituck County's story is America's story, written through 350 years of both good and bad times.

LAURA DOUGLASS: Karen Pence, the Second Lady Visits R. Riveter (Southern Pines Pilot reports) -- Handsewn piece by piece, handbag by handbag, R. Riveter has grown from an attic-based business to the national stage in only a few short years.

Southport police department put on leave to return to duty (Wilmington Star-News reports) – The Southport police department that was put on paid leave when its then-chief was arrested is set to return to duty. Criminal investigators are trying to figure out why the business operated by a Republican candidate for Buncombe County sheriff burned down. The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the fire last month that turned Shad Higgins' tire shop into a burned-out shell. The SBI has yet to release any information about the fire or what caused it on October 26.

RICK SMITH: Source say Triangle hasn’t been told it’s out of for either Amazon HQ2 or Apple (WRAL-TV/TechWire) -- Sources are saying the Triangle has not been told it is no longer in the running for the $5 billion Amazon HQ2 project and its promise of 50,000 jobs or a promised new corporate campus from Apple that could mean thousands of jobs.

DAN KANE: Is the Raleigh region out of the running for Amazon’s headquarters? We asked NC officials (Durham-Herald Sun reports) — NC officials say they still consider the Triangle a competing site for Amazon’s second headquarters despite a Washington Post report Saturday that points to the massive project landing close to the nation’s capitol.

If border is porous, troops aren’t the way to fix it (Fayetteville Observer) -- The Pentagon and independent military analysts say that by year’s end, we’re likely to have spent at least $200 million to send military units to our borders to repulse the “caravan” of migrants from Central America trying to reach the United States. The president may deploy as any as 15,000 active-duty troops to the border to help prevent the walkers — most of them fleeing horrible problems in Honduras — from reaching this country.

CELIA RIVENBARK: Maybe it’s foot-in-mouth disease (Wilmington Star-News column) — I have to admit, coffee came outta my nose when I read the name Trump chose for the military operation to keep those worn-out, rag-tag refugee families from entering the United States at our border with Mexico. Operation Faithful Patriot hits all the dog whistles, doesn’t it? But, really, why stop there? I guess Operation White Privileged AF Faithful Patriot was deemed a bit on the nose by the president’s advisers.

JOHN RAILEY: Lack of reliable transportation holds people back (Winston-Salem Journal column) — What many of us forget is just how essential a car is in Winston-Salem to move up the economic ladder. Buses provide affordable service, but access to jobs, medical care and shopping are limited to stops along the bus routes.

RANDALL JONES: This side of the world of despair (Winston-Salem Journal column) — Who among us with a sibling or more than one child has not heard, “He started it” or “She hit me first”? Our human nature looks for our discontent in the actions of others. After doing this long enough, we forget how the animosity started and little care as each successive outrage seems to top the last — tit for tat and an eye for an eye, until we are all blind.

JANE STANCILL: After Spellings exit, UNC must try again to find accord between board and president (Durham-Herald Sun reports) — The system must reboot again after another abrupt departure of its leader. The previous president, Tom Ross, a Democrat, was fired by the board in 2015 and left in 2016 in what some viewed as a political ouster. Now, three years later, the Spellings era is over.

NATALIE MATTHEWS: Plane with 'restore Silent Sam' banner seen flying over Butner (WRAL-TV reports) -- Multiple residents in Butner spotted a plane flying around the area with a Confederate flag and a banner that read "restore Silent Sam."

SCOTT JASCHIK: Confronting 'It's OK to Be White' Posters (Inside Higher Ed reports) -- Although Richard A. Baker, president of the American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity, said that the message behind the posters is protected free speech at a public college, he said that college officials should be paying attention to those spreading this message, and thinking about the implications of the message. For the last two years, the Anti-Defamation League has been documenting an increase in white supremacist activity (including posters) on college campuses. There were 292 cases of white supremacist propaganda reported on campuses during the 2017-18 academic year, compared to 165 in 2016-17.

LIZ SCHLEMMER: State Board Of Education Delays Vote On State Takeover Of Elementary in Goldsboro (WUNC-FM reports) -- The State Board of Education has delayed the vote on whether to include Carver Heights Elementary in Goldsboro in the Innovative School District, after discussion by board members that there is not enough community support for the state’s plan to take over the struggling school.

DEVON HALL: Hurricanes, juries slam pork industry (Fayetteville Observer column) — For decades, NC residents, wildlife and waterways have been under siege by raw sewage from hog farms that liquify pig waste, store it in open air ponds, then spray it on nearby fields — the mist, the bacteria and the odor wafting across neighboring properties and homes, the toxic solution seeping into the ground and running into local wetlands and streams.

KIRK ROSS: NC’s New Stance On Climate Change, Energy (Coastal Review Online reports) — The sun was shining and sheep were grazing under the solar panels at SAS Institute as Gov. Roy Cooper took to the podium to announce an array of initiatives that underlined a change of course on climate change for a state once roundly mocked for defying its existence.

IMARI SCARBOROUGH: Central NC communities face hurricane recovery outside spotlight (Carolina Public Press reports) — Weeks after Tropical Storms Florence and Michael struck NC, many areas far from the coast are quietly recovering out of the media spotlight.

GREG BARNES: What to Do With 4.2 Million Dead Poultry After Hurricane Florence? Turn Them Into Compost (NC Health News reports) — FEMA agreed to pay up to $20 million to turn 4.2 million dead chickens and turkeys into compost. NC is the only state to use FEMA money to dispose of dead poultry after a weather disaster.

ANNA WILDE MATTHEWS: N.C. Faces Hospital Fight Trying New Tack to Set Health-Care Payments (Wall Street Journal reports) – N.C. wants to reshape how it pays for its workers’ health care—and save hundreds of millions of dollars—by scrapping the secret negotiations typically used to set rates with doctors and hospitals.

JEFF HAMPTON: Marijuana candy showing up more frequently in N.C. (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reports) -- Homemade marijuana edibles have been around for years. But the latest batch of consumable products aren't your parents' pot brownies.