A Brief Note About President Trump's Executive Order on Mail Voting

 by Christopher Cooper

President Trump just signed a new Executive Order (EO) on mail voting. There’s a lot to digest and Election Law guru Rick Hasen has some predictably smart thoughts at electionlawblog.org

For now, I’ll let other people, like Hasen, debate the legality of the President dictating election law (a power that is not given to him in the Constitution), and the wisdom of directing the USPS to vet voter lists, and I’ll focus on the 60 day provision (see the clip below).

Trump Approval Drops as North Carolinians Oppose Iran Escalation; Cooper Leads Senate Race

By Michael Bitzer

One month into the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, North Carolinians have grown more negative in their views of President Donald Trump, according to a new Catawba-YouGov survey. A plurality say the U.S. was wrong to attack Iran, and as the Pentagon signals a potentially prolonged conflict with ground operations, a strong majority oppose deploying troops. 

The survey also finds that Democrat Roy Cooper leads Republican Michael Whatley in the early horserace numbers for the U.S. Senate election, 48 percent to 34 percent among likely voters (including those who initially said they were undecided but lean toward a candidate), with 14 percent undecided.

The End of the Berger Era

By Christopher Cooper

Phil Berger has spent more than a decade and a half as the most powerful politician in North Carolina. Last week, he conceded that he lost his primary election to challenger Sam Page by 23 votes—a loss that has been called a political “earthquake” and covered by national press, including the New York Times.

North Carolina political insiders are positively apoplectic about what may come next. But you can be forgiven if you're still unsure why this is such a big deal. It is a state senate race, after all.