Following is a weekly round-up of news clips and opinions of importance to North Carolinians from around the state, as reported by various state and national news sources.

N.C. remapping rules include election results but not race

From
Past election results can be considered in drawing North Carolina’s new General Assembly districts later this month but not racial information about voters, according to ground rules Republicans pushed through redistricting committees Thursday.  Read more…

Also see: What the fight over fair elections is really all about
As NC looks at election rules and redistricting, a powerful new book reminds us why these issues are even on the table 

From  

 … caring and thinking people should not lose sight of the forest for the trees in assessing the fight over fair elections and what’s really at stake. The sad truth of the matter is that each is merely one small skirmish in a long running national contest launched cynically and intentionally several years ago by leaders of the American Right. Their purpose, as Professor Nancy MacLean of Duke University argues persuasively in her new book … is to literally remake the United States into an oligarchy that is of, by and for a wealthy minority.  Read more…

Will Pat McCrory make fourth bid for governor in 2020? Looks like he’s thinking about it

From

It is impossible to say with certainty whether former Gov. Pat McCrory will run for his old job again in 2020.  But it seems quite clear McCrory hasn’t ruled it out, and he sure sounded a lot like a candidate.
He criticized Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s response to Hurricane Matthew and called for a new voter ID law, saying, “I know for a fact that we had a lot of non-citizens that were voting,” the News & Observer of Raleigh reported.  An audit by the State Board of Elections found only 41 such votes.  Read more…

Hotly contested local races set to take the political stage in NC
From  
Across the state, this year’s historically crowded municipal elections have drawn new types of candidates.  Young candidates. First time candidates. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates.
And, importantly, many more non-white candidates.  Read more…

Alternative and revisionist histories of the South
by Thomas Mills From
Race has always been a major force in American politics, especially in the South. It confounded the framers of the constitution and split the nation in two just 80 years after declaring Independence. Today, the politics of white nationalism played a major role in defining, if not electing, Donald Trump. We’re still a long way from the color-blind society that so many idealistic conservatives believe is so close.  Read more…

Editorial: More questions, more answers needed on worth of private school vouchers
Editorial from
Anyone who might be looking for an assessment of or justification for North Carolina’s private school voucher program won’t find them in two new studies from N.C. State University. The information isn’t there and subsequent studies will analyze early academic impact. These studies shed NO light on the performance or value of the taxpayer-financed “Opportunity Scholarship” program.  Read more…

NCGOP accuses Gov. Roy Cooper of violating campaign finance law.  From
… (Governor Roy) Cooper’s campaign strategist, Morgan Jackson, dismissed the accusation that anything improper happened at the fundraiser.
“The event was hosted by individuals and all fundraising expenses were paid for by the Cooper Campaign,” Jackson said. “This a baseless complaint that just happens to come out on a day that public polling numbers were released showing that Governor Cooper has strong statewide approval ratings.”
The N.C. Democratic Party also called the allegation “baseless.”  Read more…