Tag Archives: North Carolina Primary Election

The Same Rules Should Apply To Everyone

Posted on by

One of the most contested races in the North Carolina primary election this month was the Republican primary race between state Senate Leader Phil Berger and Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. As of now, Sam Page has won the race by 23 votes. Phil Berger is demanding a recount (which he is entitled to). He is, however, required to play by the recount rules.

On Wednesday, The Daily Haymaker reported:

Republican state Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) was handed a setback in his election recount efforts Wednesday when the North Carolina State Board of Elections declined to take up his request for an expedited hand-eye recount of 220 ballots.

The decision comes as Berger seeks to overcome a 23-vote deficit to primary opponent Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. The request for the hand-eye examination — meaning visual review by human counters without the use of a machine — came as part of Berger’s request for a recount of the race on Tuesday, which remains ongoing.

Of the ballots Berger singled out, 217 are undervotes, in which voters appear to have not voted on a ballot item despite casting a ballot, either because they left the section blank or left an unclear marking. The other three are overvotes, ballots in which multiple candidates appear to have been selected, invalidating the vote

There is no remedy for the former if they truly are undervotes, said State Board of Elections Executive Director Sam Hayes, because the board “can’t account for something that is not there.”

Under state law, “if it is impossible to clearly determine a voter’s choice in a ballot item, the official ballot shall not be counted for that ballot item.” For ballot items where selections cannot be read by a machine, votes can only be counted if “human counters can clearly determine the voter’s choice.”

The article concludes:

Spending $12 million of other people’s money to eviscerate your opponent — and you STILL manage to lose by 23 votes. Losing your home county by 2-to-1.  (*Oh, the agony …*)

The Mustache™ is hinting that they’re planning to lawyer up and pull a Jefferson Griffin.  And why not?  It worked *so well* for the plan’s namesake.

I wonder if the party establishment will moan as loudly this time about all the damage the court fight is doing to the party?

This is something to watch carefully. Phil Berger is not going to give up his power easily.

Three Things The Republicans Need To Do

Posted on by

The North Carolina primary election voting starts in about two weeks. The results of that election will determine who represents the state in Washington. There are a number of significant races–one U.S. Senate seat and one U.S. House seat among them. It is quite possible that the results will hinge on turnout. In both cases, the Republicans are up against a formidable opponent with political experience. In the Senate race, the choice is between a Washington insider and a grass roots candidate. In the House race, there are a number of good candidates, some with better name recognition. It is an important primary, and the results will tell us a lot about who is paying attention.

On January 24th, The American Thinker posted an article about some things the Republicans need to do if they intend to remain in control of Congress.

This is the list:

  1. Why fixing the integrity of U.S. elections is imperative

The fundamental reason why election integrity is of paramount importance is that the whole basis of the United States is the sovereignty of the people. It is the DNA of America. The legitimacy and moral authority of the country come only from the people who express their preferences for their local, state, and national government officials through free and fair elections. When there is vote fraud and election irregularities, the moral authority of government is compromised, causing the people to disrespect and distrust their own government…

2. Why Prosecuting felony crimes committed by private sector and public officials is imperative

One function of our law enforcement and justice system is to punish lawbreakers. However, the more important function of law enforcement is the deterrence and prevention of other lawbreakers and to prevent the continuation, broadening and escalation of crime.

What has most greased the skids of America’s decline toward the status of a banana republic is the emergence and acceptance of two-tiered justice and attendant cronyism and political corruption…

3. Why Restoring Law and Order in American Cities is imperative

The term “sanctuary city” was first used in 1971 in Berkeley, California for the purpose of giving safe haven to U.S. soldiers resisting the Vietnam War. The modern sanctuary city movement to provide safe haven to illegal immigrants began in the 1980s during the surge of Central American refugees into the U.S.

According to radical left training manuals from the Conference on Alternative State and Local Policies in the late 1970s and 1980s, there was an agenda to radicalize city and state government to transform America. The radicalization of targeted “blue” cities and states dovetailed with the sanctuary city movement. And today there are about twenty large cities and thirteen states that have adopted sanctuary status with policies, laws, and regulations that impede enforcement of federal law and federal immigration laws in particular.

Unless these problems are dealt with, I see no future for the Republican party. They were elected to support the President and deal with the corruption. We have had hearings and hearings and hearings, but the Justice Department has not sent anyone to jail. That needs to change.

The Consequences Of Not Paying Attention

Posted on by

Those of you who read this blog who are not political junkies actually have lives and responsibilities. I understand that. I also understand how easy it is to get disillusioned with politics and political figures (If I had a nickel for every time I yelled, “Throw all of the bums out,” I would right up there with Donald Trump financially). However, there comes a time when you have to pay attention, take action, and work to make your voice heard. If you live in North Carolina, now is that time. I can’t speak for other states, but I can tell you what is going on here.

This article is based on a number of articles that have recently appeared in The Daily Haymaker, a conservative newspaper that does a very good job covering the hijinks of North Carolina politicians. The article is also based on my personal observations at the North Carolina Republican Executive Committee Meeting in Greensboro. I am not a delegate, so I had the opportunity to sit in the back of the room and observe. Boy, did I get an eyeful.

I recently posted an article about the law passed regarding the date of the Presidential Primary election in North Carolina. What was needed was a straight-forward, clean bill to change the date of the Primary Election to March 15th. What was passed was a money and power grab by establishment Republicans to cut off funds to conservative candidates and do away with those pesky conservatives in the legislature that want to hold elected officials accountable.

On Friday, The Daily Haymaker reported on some financial shenanigans that took place before the vote on the amended Primary Election Bill. Essentially, money is being moved out of the state Republican Party coffers (where it would be under the control on the newly-elected conservative Chairman and Vice-Chairman). Eight members of the legislature received checks for $15,000 (this is not an election year). Oddly enough, seven of those people were present and voted for the amendment added to the Primary Election Bill.

The article reports:

THIS is not an election year.  Why the big payouts?  Could it have something to do with the surprise outcome of the NCGOP convention in June?  (After all, we did break the story about establishment insiders plotting to move “caucus funds” out of the state party bank account.    Laundering the money through the accounts of loyal lieutenants — who won’t snitch — would seem like a great way to do that.)

At the Executive Committee Meeting yesterday, the Craven County Delegates brought forth a Resolution that David Lewis, the person who put the last-minute amendment into the Primary Election Bill, be removed from his position as Republican National Committeeman for the cause of Party Noncompliance (in other words, he broke the Party rules).  It was very obvious that those running the meeting did not want this Resolution introduced and did not want it voted on. There were three calls to make sure there was a quorum within about ten minutes to delay the vote. David Lewis got up and explained what a wonderful idea it was to create shadow political parties (wonderful for whom?), and generally the meeting was a three-ring circus for about thirty minutes. After a very lively discussion, the establishment prevailed (at least temporarily) and declared that the Resolution was out of order. It may (or may not) have been out of order, but it was clear that the group of politicians running the meeting did not want to be held accountable for their actions.

Because most of us have lives and don’t pay a lot of attention to what is going on in our local and state governments, professional politicians have not been held accountable for their actions. They are elected because they say the right things, but are not held accountable when they do the exact opposite of what they say. Because we are not holding our elected officials accountable, they are seizing more power and our voices are not being heard. In the coming week we have a chance to make a difference (at least in North Carolina).

The solution to the current mess is for Governor McCrory to veto the current Primary Election Bill, send it back to the legislature, and have the legislature send him a clean bill. There is time for that if the Governor vetoes the bill on Monday or Tuesday. If you want to have a voice in your state government, please call Governor McCrory’s office (919-814-2000) on Monday and ask him to veto House Bill 373.