Ahead of the midterm elections, North Carolina’s early voting locations and hours have been set. Last Thursday, the North Carolina State Board of Elections issued final rulings in the counties where voting plans were contested. In most cases, the board ruled against Sunday voting, while in some cases, the board ruled against campus polling sites.
The Republican-majority elections board met for nearly 12 hours, in a marathon marked by tense debate over racial impacts, the ability for students to vote and the influence of the state auditor’s office on early voting plans. This will be the first major election after state lawmakers transferred board appointment powers from Democratic Gov. Josh Stein to Republican state auditor Dave Boliek.
Aside from voting changes, a new poll shows North Carolinians express relatively high confidence in the safety, security and integrity of their own elections — local and statewide. However, confidence drops dramatically when respondents are asked about votes cast outside the state.
We discuss how the state Board of Elections' decisions will impact voters and examine how voters feel about elections near and far.
Later in the show, a new study shows Charlotte’s growth is cutting into its farmland. Between 2017 and 2022, the region lost 760 farms, a decline of 8%. Research suggests that although thousands of farms continue to operate across the region, those that remain are increasingly concentrated in fewer hands.
We’ll discuss how agriculture is changing in the Charlotte region and what it means for the economy and the region's farming future.
GUESTS:
Part I
Kyle Ingram, democracy reporter for the News & Observer
Michael Bitzer, Ph.D., professor of politics & history and director of the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service at Catawba College
Part II
Eva Caison, Carolina Farms Fund program manager with The Conservation Fund
Kailas Venkitasubramanian, Ph.D.; director of research analytics at the Charlotte Urban Institute at UNC Charlotte
