City Smart: Voter ID law heads to trial to early voting begins

• N.C. voter ID law headed to trial. In 2013, the state legislature passed a voter ID law (along with other changes), and it has been in litigation for the past two years(ish). In June, the General Assembly expanded the voter ID options, and now argues that the challenge to the voter ID law is moot. There are two lawsuits — one in state court, one in federal. At the state level, Judge Mike Morgan (who was drum major at New Bern High) has put things on hold until after the March 2016 presidential primary. Judge Thomas Schroeder, however, refused to dismiss the case and set a trial date for January 2016.
• Margaret Spellings = new president of UNC System. The Board of Governors for the University of North Carolina System elected Margaret Spellings to serve as the next president of the UNC System, which has 17 schools and serves 220,000 students. Spellings previously served as secretary of education under President George W. Bush. To get an idea of how she envisions the future of education, check out her op-ed in the WSJ about data-driven education. Her tenure may begin with a “deficit of trust” because the selection process was secretive and lawmakers felt left out, but she believes that the UNC system can be the “finest system in the nation.” She says, “to accomplish this mission, we must be productive, accountable, agile and transparent. We must keep a firm grasp on our obligation to innovate, to remain the engine that drives North Carolina’s growth and assures such great quality of life here.” We wish her the best of luck!

• Early voting is underway in Charlotte. So far, 2,345 people have voted in the 2015 municipal elections. Interesting updates in the race this past week include:

(1) The Charlotte Observer endorsed Edwin Peacock for mayor.

(2) An October 18 poll has Jennifer Roberts winning over Edwin Peacock by 15 percentage points, with 54% of likely voters surveyed saying they would vote for Roberts versus 39% that would vote for Peacock.

(3) The Observer didn’t endorse a candidate in District 4. Incumbent Greg Phipps will likely win re-election, but he could be vulnerable to a primary challenger in 2017.

(4) Janeen Bryant, Elyse Dashew, and Ericka Ellis-Stewart are leading in endorsements for Board of Education.

#145363kids – a vote for every child. We’re asking everyone to pledge to vote. Sign the pledge here. C’mon, it’s for the kids!

1 Happy Thing

• J.B. Mauney, from neighboring Mooresville, won the Professional Bull Riders World Finals. Check out this video of him riding Wicked Stick from earlier this year. If you feel inspired, you can head over to Whisky River and hop on the mechanical bull.

(Photo credit: U.S. Department of Education, @amychiou)