Three Federal Judge Panel Strikes Down NC's 1st & 12th Congressional Districts' Maps

Was interviewed for a bombshell of a court decision Friday evening regarding the NC legislature's maps for the 1st and 12th congressional districts, which were declared unconstitutional due to race.

What Would Michael Bloomberg Face with an Independent Presidential Run?

Was interviewed by WCBS in New York about the chances and challenges that Michael Bloomberg would face with an independent run for the White House.

Why Iowa And New Hampshire Shouldn't Matter As Much As They Once Did

I was interviewed for a story for Tom Bullock with WFAE News on the role of the early states and which state's primary electorate might be the most reflective of the nation as whole.

With CLT Vote on I-77 Toll Lanes, McCrory May Still Feel the Political Wrath

Was interviewed about the political impact of the I-77 toll lanes project on Governor Pat McCrory perceptions of the issue and his re-election bid.

On the Trump Phenomenon

David Whisenant of WBTV News interviewed me about my thoughts on the Trump phenomenon and how I became interested in politics and a resource for the media.

Analysis of "Inactive" Voters in North Carolina as of 1-2-16

At the beginning of 2016, North Carolina has 6.4 million registered voters, per the voter record file from the NC State Board of Elections.

One of the columns of data for each record is the voter's 'status,' which can be active or inactive (along with several other categories that indicate the voter has been removed from the roll).  For 'inactive' voters, the State Board of Elections classify them by this:

If a county board of elections has not had any contact with a voter for a period of two federal election cycles, then the voter will be sent a forwardable address confirmation mailing. The voter will be required to return the confirmation mailing within 30 days of the mailing. If the confirmation mailing is not returned by the voter within that time, or the mailing is returned by the postal system as undeliverable, then the voter’s record will be marked inactive in the voter registration database. Inactive voters are still registered voters. If an inactive voter presents to vote, the person will be asked to update his or her address with the board of elections. In the event that an inactive voter remains in this status for another two federal election cycles (meaning the county board still has no contact with the voter), then the voter will be removed as a voter in the county.*

Within the 6.4 million registered voters, 1.2 million, or 19 percent, are classified as 'inactive voters.' The following graphs give some sense of who these inactive voters are in the state.

* "Indian" could be either American Indian or Alaskan Native.

A primer on presidential primaries

I have a new blog post at WFAE's The Party Line on the various primary contests we'll see coming up in the presidential primary contests.

The Democratic Party in the South Has Changed For Good

Mike Cooper writes in The New Republic about the changing Democratic Party in the South.

Franklin Graham Tries to Rally Evangelical Voters for 2016

Tim Funk at the Charlotte Observer wrote a pretty significant long piece on Franklin Graham's 50-state tour to rally evangelical voters in preparation for the 2016 election.

Year in Review at WFAE's The Party Line blog

Some final thoughts on 2015's politics at WFAE's The Party Line.