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Tag: NCCapitol

  • Bipartisan commission gets to work on upgrading 28-year-old NC elections systems

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    North Carolina’s election technology is long overdue for an upgrade, state officials say, and now a bipartisan commission is poised to meet for the first time Tuesday to dive into the nitty-gritty of modernizing the systems. 

    In the end, officials say, election results should come faster, voter data should be better maintained, and the systems that organize votes should be more secure.

    North Carolina’s Statewide Elections Information Management System (SEIMS) dates to 1998. It has evolved into a tangle of technology, consisting of modern, web-based applications and legacy systems that are written in unsupported programming languages that pose security risks, and are difficult to manage and update. The current systems are “on the verge of malfunctioning due to various updates to operating and other system resources,” the state said in describing the upgrade to potential contractors.

    Lawmakers passed a spending package last year that included $15 million for the State Board of Elections to use for upgrades to the system, including improvements to campaign finance software. 

    State Auditor Dave Boliek, a Republican whose office oversees state election administration, created the bipartisan commission to help oversee the modernization effort, and to build faith among voters who might be skeptical of the process. The Modernization of Election Data Systems commission is made up of 22 members: professional election staffers, political appointees and academics, who are tasked with helping fix the technology that supports North Carolina’s elections.

    Election technology has come under scrutiny from some voters in recent years, fueled in part by President Donald Trump’s disproven claims about voter fraud during the 2020 election. In 2024, nearly one in every three North Carolina voters had little to no faith in the accuracy of election results, according to a WRAL News poll. Mistrust was highest among Trump supporters, even though audits of past election results haven’t found widespread voter fraud.

    A recent North Carolina lawsuit — brought by Republican Jefferson Griffin, who challenged a 2024 race for a state Supreme Court seat — put a brighter spotlight on election data management, though. Griffin challenged the validity of thousands of voters, saying they had errant or incorrect information on file with the state. Griffin lost that challenge and the race, but his effort prompted the state to seek to verify the identity of thousands of North Carolina voters.

    The tech upgrade also comes as Democrats question whether elections can be administered impartially following the transfer of election control from the Democratic governor’s office to the Republican state auditor — a move enabled by the Republican-led state legislature.

    Phase one of the modernization effort — including requesting proposals from vendors and creating the commission — is complete. The second phase will take several years. Boliek plans incremental modernization of the current system to keep it operational. 

    In the meantime, Boliek says the current system is in good shape to produce accurate results and a fair election.

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  • State board investigating allegations of misconduct by voter registration-drive workers

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    The North Carolina State Board of Elections is  investigating allegations of misconduct by voter registration-drive workers. 

    The board said Friday that it received complaints alleging that workers have been impersonating state or county elections officials in Brunswick, Buncombe, Chowan, Haywood, Nash, Scotland, and Wake counties.

    The board said it received complaints of people falsely telling voters that they must re-register to vote to cast a ballot in future elections. Under the law, however, voters who are already registered are not required to re-register unless they have moved to a new county. Voters who move to a new address in the same county or wish to change their name or party affiliation should submit a new voter registration application to update their voter record, elections officials said. 

    Elections officials also received complaints of people going door-to-door, falsely identifying themselves as county or state election workers. Government election workers do not go door-to-door for any reason, the board said. 

    The board is also investigating allegations of voter registration applications turned into county boards of elections with missing or inaccurate voter information, such as a wrong birthdate or a voter identification number different that doesn’t match what’s on file with state elections officials. It is a felony to falsify a voter registration form, officials said. 

    “When workers involved in voter drives falsify or alter information on registration forms, it can cause problems for innocent voters at the polls,” Sam Hayes, the director of the state elections board, said in a statement. “This is unacceptable and hurts voter confidence.”

    The board regularly investigates allegations of fraud or misconduct. In October 2022, the state board investigated complaints from voters who said they were confused by mailers that included inaccurate information about whether they voted in the 2018 or 2020 elections.

    Tips for Voters

    The state board on Friday provided tips and reminders for voters as the March 3 primary election nears: 

    • All voters can check their registration status on the state board’s website to double check if they are registered or see if they need to re-register. 
    • Voters registering to vote at a registration drive don’t have to return the form to the worker at the drive. Voters can deliver the form in person or by mail to their county board of elections.
    • County and state elections officials do not go door-to-door. The board asked voters to report instances of home visits by people identifying themselves as election officials.
    • Voters can always ask voter registration workers for their information to verify their identities to make sure they are actually working for election officials.

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  • In North Carolina, a tight primary could upend the balance of conservative power

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    ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, N.C. — Phil Berger entered the small auditorium at Rockingham Community College and prepared to defend his record to a crowd of MAGA-hat-wearing constituents, with just weeks to go before the primary for his North Carolina Senate seat.

    On paper, his odds looked good. He had represented these voters for more than two decades in the state Senate and had led the chamber ever since Republicans took over in 2011. He had built a political machine that in many ways now runs the state. And his clamp on policy decisions, as well as his network of lobbyists and wealthy donors, had turned him into North Carolina’s most powerful politician, making his seat virtually untouchable.

    But at the conservative candidates forum at the college in Wentworth, North Carolina, last week, there was a popular sheriff in town eager to take down Berger, representing the first time in years that the Senate leader’s reign has been threatened.

    “Too many times we elect officials that forget who their bosses are, and whom they serve,” the sheriff, Sam Page of Rockingham County, North Carolina, told the crowd, flashing his trademark cowboy hat, gray mustache and thick glasses. Several nodded in approval.

    To much of North Carolina, the most talked-about race so far this year has not been the high-profile contest for U.S. Senate nor one of the few potentially competitive races in congressional districts across the swing state. Instead, all eyes have zeroed in on a surprisingly tight Republican primary on March 3 for state Senate District 26, a rural stretch of land in the north, that could upend the balance of conservative power in North Carolina.

    “North Carolina hasn’t seen a primary race like this in decades, and probably hasn’t ever seen one like this where the stakes could not be higher,” said Andrew Dunn, a GOP strategist and the publisher of Longleaf Politics, a conservative newsletter. “If Sen. Berger loses, that creates a gigantic power vacuum in North Carolina politics, and it’s unclear who would fill that.”

    President Donald Trump endorsed Berger last year shortly after the Senate leader spearheaded the approval of a new congressional map that is likely to give Republicans an extra U.S. House seat this year. Berger has denied accusations that he pushed for redistricting to secure Trump’s approval.

    But even the endorsement has underscored the peculiarities of the race and has mirrored the ways some voters feel about both candidates. Trump has also been friendly with Page, whom he has described as “right out of central casting.” In December, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he wanted Page “to come work for us in Washington, D.C., rather than further considering a run against Phil — Both are such outstanding people!”

    For many in rural Rockingham County, Page — who has served the county for almost three decades — has been a near-constant affable figure steeped in Trump world. He texts with Tom Homan, the White House border czar, and jokes that the way to fix U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s image is to add “National” to its name so the acronym spells “NICE.”

    The sheriff, whose phone wallpaper is a photo of him smiling next to the president, said in an interview that he had been watching a comedy channel on TV when Trump called to tell him that he wanted to endorse Berger but that “I want to endorse you, too.”

    Page told the president that he appreciated the job offer, but he was “committed to the people” of Rockingham and Guilford counties. There, billboards, TV commercials and flyers advertise Trump’s adoration for Berger and portray the sheriff as “shady,” calling him Sombrero Sam and saying he is weak on immigration.

    The sheriff said those ads were a farce.

    “If you see me toting a shotgun over my shoulder, if you see me riding a horse, or if you see me standing with Donald Trump, it’s not AI — it’s real,” he said. “I am who I am.”

    Some of Berger’s allies privately acknowledge that despite all those flyers and hours of ads, the longtime sheriff still has him on the ropes. It has become a campaign for political survival, one that is testing the antiestablishment restlessness coursing through voters of all stripes.

    “The way I’ve described it is, I’ve had the opportunity to exercise political muscles that I haven’t had to exercise in a while,” Berger said in an interview, clenching his fists as if he were flexing. “And it feels good.”

    Two Very Different Candidates

    In both personality and campaign style, the sheriff and the senator are worlds apart. Page, typically wearing some kind of vest and boots, is extroverted. Berger, rarely seen without a suit, appears more reserved, working his power behind the scenes.

    Since at least 2012, Page has been hawkish on immigration, even visiting the border. Berger has mainly prioritized fiscal policy and building up the private sector, which his supporters say has contributed to North Carolina’s being named by CNBC as the best state for business for three of the last four years.

    Page says his favorite campaign strategy is visiting Walmart and Sam’s Club stores to shake hands. His vehicle is outfitted with campaign stickers. Berger’s campaign and organizations supporting him have flooded TV airwaves and are likely to spend millions of dollars doing so through the end of his primary campaign, according to two people familiar with his operation who were not authorized to speak publicly.

    Berger declined to specify how much his campaign would spend or what his internal polls showed, but he noted that his team would invest “probably more than we need to” in order to win. In the past, campaigns in tough state Senate primaries have spent anywhere from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

    Such high spending may cost Republican state senators who are facing tight races in November and need the money in order to maintain a supermajority in the chamber. There are questions whether Berger, a prolific fundraiser, will have sufficient money left over for his caucus.

    Some polls show that Berger will almost surely lose in Rockingham County, which accounts for about 40% of votes in the district; the other 60% lie in parts of Guilford County.

    His poor showing in Rockingham is partly because of what happened in 2023, when the Senate leader tried to rush through legislation that would have brought a casino to the county. The community, deeply conservative and Christian, angrily pushed back on the proposal, prompting Berger to abandon the measure. But many voters have not forgotten.

    (BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM.)

    Also entangled in the race is the fact that North Carolina remains the only state in the country without an approved budget. As the Republican-controlled chambers remain in a stalemate, mainly over tax disagreements, Berger’s fate next month could steer the way negotiations go.

    (END OPTIONAL TRIM.)

    On a recent afternoon at the Farmer’s Table, a restaurant in Rockingham County, Page waved at customers and talked about the Reidsville High School Rams’ state football championship. Several brought up Berger.

    “He’s like a chameleon,” Page said of his opponent’s transformation into a pro-Trump politician, taking a bite from his plate of hush puppies.

    “I don’t think we need him anymore,” said Yancy King, a 66-year-old former emergency management worker, arguing that Berger cared more about his personal interests than about his constituents.

    “I know it,” the sheriff said.

    The county of about 93,000 is not entirely against Berger. Some residents, like Wayne Hamilton, 55, said there were tangible benefits from the fact that the most powerful person in the state was a local. He cited the recruitment of a pet food manufacturing facility as an example.

    “It’s about what he brings to the table for our county,” Hamilton said.

    Several voters in Guilford County said they were sick of Berger’s ads, saying the volume felt worse than a presidential election year, which is saying a lot for swing state residents. Others said the Trump endorsement was all the guidance they needed.

    That connection has deeply mattered to Berger, who last year shepherded an immigration bill and a sweeping crime bill through the legislature. Asked what he made of the assertion that Page was more like Trump, Berger said there was “an old story here in Rockingham County that the most dangerous place to be is between Sam Page and a camera.”

    “If that’s what you mean by being more Trumpy, then that’s him,” he added.

    (STORY CAN END HERE. OPTIONAL MATERIAL FOLLOWS.)

    At the forum at Rockingham Community College last week, the men were cordial, shaking hands as they took the stage.

    In a rapid-fire, punctual tone, Berger listed off his accomplishments.

    “I am the most effective conservative candidate in this race — the most effective conservative leader for legislative Republicans,” Berger said, adding, “I’ve fought every conservative battle there is and come out on top.”

    Then came closing statements. The sheriff stood up and delivered a message about working for “we the people.”

    Berger remained seated as he spoke his closing thoughts. All night, candidates in other primary races had stopped talking as soon as the moderator banged his gavel.

    Berger paused briefly when he was interrupted by a thud at the podium. But then he continued.

    “I’m the leader of Republicans in the Senate,” he said. “I ask for your vote.”

    This article originally appeared in The New York Times.



    Signs for Phil Berger, the State Senate majority leader, and his opponent, Sam Page, outside Rockingham Community College in Wentworth, N.C. on Feb. 5, 2026. (Cornell Watson/The New York Times)
    CORNELL WATSON




    Phil Berger, right, the State Senate majority leader, at a forum for Republican candidates with his opponent, Sam Page, center, at Rockingham Community College in Wentworth, N.C. on Feb. 5, 2026. Phil Berger has led the State Senate for years with an iron grip. But in a March election, he faces a popular, horse-riding sheriff who could topple his reign. (Cornell Watson/The New York Times)

    CORNELL WATSON




    Sheriff Sam Page in Reidsville, N.C. on Feb. 6, 2026. Phil Berger has led the State Senate for years with an iron grip. But in a March election, he faces a popular, horse-riding sheriff who could topple his reign. (Cornell Watson/The New York Times)

    CORNELL WATSON




    Phil Berger, left, the State Senate majority leader, at Rockingham Community College Wentworth, N.C. on Feb. 5, 2026. Sam Page, right, in Reidsville, N.C., on Feb. 6, 2026. Phil Berger has led the State Senate for years with an iron grip. But in a March election, he faces a popular, horse-riding sheriff who could topple his reign.(Cornell Watson/The New York Times)

    CORNELL WATSON

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  • Storm response costing NC millions as state scrambles to buy more salt, pay overtime

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    In the middle of back-to-back weekends with snow and ice blanketing North Carolina, state government officials made the call to spend $5 million on more salt to help clearing roads throughout the state.

    Even after buying that mountain of salt — about 30,000 tons — the state is still not quite back to the level officials would like to see as they prepare for the potential of more winter weather this week. So additional purchases to further replenish the state’s salt supply are expected.

    It’s just one example of the millions of dollars the extended storm response has cost North Carolina. As of noon on Tuesday, the state Department of Transportation alone has spent at least $24.8 million — costs that include buying salt and other supplies, or hiring private contractors to supplement the people and vehicles out treating and plowing roads.

    That figure doesn’t count the overtime DOT workers logged, since those numbers aren’t available yet. It also doesn’t include any of the other state agencies that have also faced additional costs due to the storm.

    Much of the cost has been for personnel, including paying overtime to state workers who had to pull double shifts to help keep highways clean — or leave their families to sleep in their office over one or both weekends, to make sure that state government functioned even if roads were impassable.

    Those workers won high praise from Gov. Josh Stein Tuesday.

    “So many people turn their lives upside down when there’s an event like this, just to try to help the rest of us have a more normal life,” Stein said during a regular meeting of the Council of State, a gathering of North Carolina’s top executive-branch officials. 

    He added: “I’m filled with immense appreciation for the remarkable state employees, local government employees and private sector employees, to just work their tails off for two straight weeks.”

    Stein also mourned the three people who died due to the storm this weekend, in separate car crashes and a house fire. 

    Last week, during a lull between the weekend storms, Stein visited a state Department of Transportation facility and met some of the people working long hours there. “They were just finishing trying to do the work from the first storm and prepare for the next storm,” he said. “One guy worked 91 hours. Another guy worked 101 hours. And they were just coming into this weekend.”

    Part of that work: Laying down more than 160,000 tons of salt in the past two weeks in all 100 counties of the state. And their work isn’t finished yet; more snow is possible in central North Carolina on Wednesday night.

    Stein said DOT is hoping to spread another 20,000 tons of salt on Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of that next round of winter weather.

    What happens if there’s another big storm?

    The state could feasibly see more snow later this winter, and Stein told WRAL Tuesday after the meeting that he’s confident the state has enough salt on hand to respond to one more large snowstorm.

    That’s less than the ideal amount, he said. State officials typically want to have enough salt and other supplies on hand to respond to two or three storms, in case of situations like what just happened, with back-to-back emergencies.

    “We think that at the end of the next couple of days, we’ll have about 50,000 tons of salt, which is enough for a major storm,” he said. “But we had enough for three major storms before we started spending out of our salt bank. So we need to replenish it.”

    That’s easier said than done. Stein said one major problem is that these storms haven’t only hit North Carolina. They’ve been massive storms, affecting nearly the entire country. So competition for the nation’s quickly dwindling salt supplies could complicate the state’s efforts to get fully stocked up.

    Regardless, spending several million dollars more on salt would be just a drop in the bucket of the state’s $32 billion budget. Stein also told WRAL that, regardless of how much these past two weeks of disaster recovery have cost, he’s confident that the state will also have enough money for emergency responses later this year if hurricanes or other extreme weather pose a threat.

    However, he cautioned, the state still doesn’t have a new budget. He said he’s working on an updated budget request now that he plans to present to the state legislature in the coming weeks. “We constantly need to replenish our storm relief fund, in case a big storm hits, so that we’re ready to respond,” Stein said.

    Other state agencies stayed busy

    While the road crews and first responders have been the most visible of the state and local government workers pulling long and uncomfortable hours due to the storms, Stein said, he wanted to acknowledge the many others whose work went unseen.

    He singled out a number of state agencies, including the Department of Information Technology, which worked through the snowy weekend to fight off cybercriminals who seemed to target the state’s systems during the storm.

    “They said that there was a big upsurge in cyber attacks, and so they were working overtime,” Stein said. “They didn’t go home for the weekend. They were working the entire weekend, just trying to ensure that our data systems are protected.”

    He also praised workers putting in long hours for the state Department of Health and Human Services, which runs mental hospitals, the state’s Medicaid system and more, and the state Treasurer’s office, which runs the State Health Plan. Keeping its office and phone lines open meant that any state workers or retirees who needed help with a health issue could get that help, Stein said, crediting State Treasurer Brad Briner and employees in his office.

    Stein also thanked behind-the-scenes employees at the Department of Environmental Quality for making sure wastewater systems were functioning.

    “We don’t always appreciate it,” Stein said. “So I’m grateful.”

    Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler added his own thanks to DOT officials, noting that they worked with his staff to make sure all the necessary roads were plowed to ensure that feed trucks could make their way to big livestock farms, keeping the animals fed and helping out a key part of the state’s economy.

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  • Does one of NC’s US Senate candidates really live in Florida? Officials probing to find out

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    A Republican running for U.S. Senate in North Carolina might not actually live in North Carolina, according to a complaint the State Board of Elections is investigating.

    The elections board said Thursday it would hold a formal hearing this month into an allegation it received that candidate Margot Dupre might actually be a Florida resident.

    She says it’s false. “I do live in North Carolina,” Dupre told WRAL Thursday.

    Candidates for office must be North Carolina residents. Margot Dupre swore she was, under penalty of perjury, when she signed up to run for office during the candidate filing period in December. She’s one of seven Republicans seeking to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC, who isn’t seeking reelection.

    When she filed to run for office, she listed her address as 601 S. Kings Drive in Charlotte. That’s the address of a UPS store next to a Tropical Smoothie Cafe in a strip mall just outside Charlotte’s city center.

    While some people receive their mail at post office boxes, it’s state law that people register to vote where they live, not where they pick up their mail. The complaint against Dupre, however, suggests that she might be living in the suburbs of Orlando, Florida.

    The complaint alleges that Florida voter records in Dupre’s name “report the candidate is probably a registered voter in Marion County, Florida” outside of Orlando, and that “she last voted in Florida in the April 1, 2025, primary election.”

    Dupre told WRAL she plans to provide a more detailed, written response to the complaint.

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  • NC lawmakers to meet on mental health amid questions about suspect in Raleigh homicide case

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    A legislative committee on mental health plans to meet Wednesday for the first time since lawmakers demanded more information about the death of a Raleigh teacher and asked why her alleged killer was on the streets.

    Legislators last week asked the House Select Committee on Involuntary Commitment and Public Safety to look into how judicial officials handled Ryan Camacho, who is charged with murder in the Jan. 3 death of Ravenscroft teacher Zoe Welsh at her Raleigh home. 

    Camacho has a documented history of mental illness. When he faced breaking-and-entering charges in a separate incident last year, prosecutors asked during that hearing to have Camacho committed to a mental hospital — a request that was denied by Wake County Judge Louis Meyer. 

    “How could a person who was found to not be competent to proceed to trial … be released not involuntarily committed, even at the request of the district attorney?” Republican state Reps. Erin Paré and Mike Schietzelt of Wake County wrote in a letter to committee members. 

    Meyer hasn’t responded to a WRAL’s requests for comment. A lawyer for Camacho didn’t respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. She has previously declined to comment. 

    The committee plans to track down the requested information, said state Rep. Tim Reeder, a Pitt County Republican and physician who co-chairs the committee. Reeder previously told WRAL that he’s not sure if the findings of the Camacho case will be shared during a committee meeting.

    The committee is scheduled to hear presentations on outpatient commitments, wherein mental health patients can receive treatment in the community instead of being committed involuntarily to a hospital. Committee members are interested in methods for treating people with mental illness in ways that don’t involve stays in psychiatric facilities, Reeder said. 

    A Duke University professor is scheduled to discuss the effectiveness of outpatient commitments and the chief psychiatrist for the state’s Department of Health and Human Services is expected to discuss the department’s recommendations for potentially expanding the practice. 

    Reeder said committee members want to know more about outpatient commitments: “Is that another tool we may have available?” he said.

    North Carolina legislators turned their attention to the state’s procedures for handling people with mental illness following the August death of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian who moved to Charlotte in 2022 and was fatally stabbed on a city train. The General Assembly passed the new mental health procedures as part of a larger judicial reform package titled, “Iryna’s Law.”

    Zarutska’s accused killer, DeCarlos Brown Jr., had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and suffered hallucinations and paranoia that his family hoped to find treatment for, his sister told CNN. Some of the changes Iryna’s Law made to the rules around involuntary commitment, however, have been put on hold while legislators consider tweaks to the law.

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  • NC Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls has cancer, will continue reelection bid

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    Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, she announced Tuesday.

    Earls is on the ballot this year, seeking another eight-year term on the court where she serves as one of just two Democratic justices on the seven-member court.

     Earls said she was diagnosed in late 2025, quickly had surgery and, following a positive prognosis by her doctors, is scheduled for further treatment later this month. She said none of it affects her political plans or her desire to continue serving the state.

    “If there’s one thing my life has taught me, it’s how to find strength in the face of adversity,” Earls wrote. “I am a mother and grandmother, a public servant and a fighter. This diagnosis is another hurdle to overcome, but let me be clear: I’m staying in the race to keep my seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court. I’ve never backed down from a tough fight, and I’ll always stand up for the rights of all North Carolinians.”

    Earls’ political opponent this year, Republican state Rep. Sarah Stevens, also announced in 2024 she was undergoing breast cancer treatments. Earls is 65. Stevens is 64.

    Justice Allison Riggs, the court’s only other Democrat, also worked with Earls in the private sector and praised her Tuesday as a valuable justice on the state’s highest court. Riggs was a lawyer at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, a Durham-based civil rights group Earls founded, and she took over leadership of the group after Earls was elected to the Supreme Court in 2018. Riggs later followed her to the court as well, wining election in 2024.

     “Justice Earls has been my friend and mentor for nearly 20 years – no one is more committed to serving the people of North Carolina,” Riggs wrote in a social media post Tuesday. “She and I remain clear-eyed about taking back the courts for justice. And the next step is re-electing Justice Earls in 2026.”

    Riggs’ 2024 victory means that Democrats have the chance to flip back control of the Supreme Court as soon as 2028, when three Republican-held seats will be up for grabs. A 2026 victory by Earls would make that task easier for Democrats.

    Democrats had a 6-1 majority on the Supreme Court as recently as 2020. But they lost every single statewide judicial race in 2020 and again in 2022, and Republicans now hold a 5-2 majority on the Supreme Court as well as a sizeable advantage on the state Court of Appeals.

    North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton wrote in a news release that the party supports Earls staying in the race after her diagnosis.

    “From litigating in the courtroom to protect civil rights, to defending our individual rights, to fighting for equal justice – and now fighting breast cancer – she has never backed down,” Clayton wrote.

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  • Stein ends Medicaid cuts amid political, legal battles over health care funding

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    North Carolina Democratic Gov. Josh Stein is canceling Medicaid reimbursement rate reductions he initiated two months ago, a decision that protects short-term access to care for vulnerable patients while a political fight with Republican legislators to enact additional funding is resolved.

    Stein and state Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Dev Sangvai announced Wednesday the state agency would restore reimbursement rates for doctors, hospitals and other medical providers of Medicaid services that otherwise generally had been cut by 3% to 10% starting Oct. 1.

    The governor had said the reductions were needed to deal with a funding shortfall for Medicaid, which serves more than 3 million low-income people in the ninth-largest state. But legal challenges to the reductions that have resulted recently in judicial rulings demanding some rates return to pre-October levels make maintaining the reductions untenable.

    The state lost two recent court hearings over the validity of the cuts and faced other similar lawsuits, WRAL reported last week. Stein said Wednesday “the writing on the wall” was clear that the reimbursement cuts wouldn’t stand up in court, so he ended them. But he said that only amps up political pressure on the Republican-led General Assembly to fully fund the program.

    “What has not changed is the program doesn’t have enough money. What has changed is that the courts have made very clear that the rates have to go back,” Stein told The Associated Press in an interview.

    The first-year governor had said the reductions, while painful for Medicaid patients and providers, were unavoidable because a stopgap spending measure the legislature approved in the summer fell $319 million short of what was needed to address population changes and rising health care costs. 

    “The legislature forced these cuts onto the program,” Stein said. “It was absolutely nothing that the department or I wanted to have happen.”

    Stein and Sangvai had previously said Medicaid would run out of money by May. But on Wednesday, as they announced the end of the cuts, they also said the program could now run out of money by March or April.

    “For months, the General Assembly has failed to fully fund Medicaid, forcing cuts to provider rates and leaving people and providers stressed and vulnerable,” Stein said Wednesday.

    State Sen. Jim Burgin, a top lawmaker in charge of health care policy, came to Stein’s announcement Wednesday. He told WRAL in an interview after that he was disappointed in Stein’s tone. Burgin also reiterated his belief that the cuts were unnecessary because, he said, the legislature will eventually vote to give Medicaid the funds it needs.

    “The rate cuts were an overreaction,” said Burgin, a Harnett County Republican. “People lost their jobs because of rate cuts.”

    Other Republican legislators have also said Stein’s actions were unnecessary, unprecedented early in the fiscal year and politically motivated. Still, state House and Senate GOP leaders tried but could not work out this fall legislation to provide extra money that would sustain the program longer.

    Stein attempted in recent weeks to pressure lawmakers to act — even by formally calling a special legislative session last month. But House Speaker Destin Hall and Senate leader Phil Berger refused to convene, saying Stein had failed to meet the qualifications for such an extraordinary session.

    The governor was pushed to relent as Medicaid consumers such as children with autism and providers like adult care homes have successfully sued the health department so far and blocked certain rate reductions.

    The plaintiffs accused the state of violating laws by reducing rates unilaterally and discriminating against those with disabilities. A host of groups representing thousands of doctors and other service providers filed their own challenges last week to block the rates more broadly.

    As part of the reversal, Sangvai said, the providers will receive retroactively reimbursements for the difference between the reduced and full rates for claims that were filed after the reductions took effect.

    The Medicaid shortfall continues, however, an offshoot of GOP leaders being unable to pass a conventional two-year budget — largely over differences about additional income tax reductions and teacher pay. North Carolina remains the only state without an enacted budget, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. A budget was supposed to be in place July 1.

    House and Senate Republicans separately agreed in September they would provide an additional $190 million to the Medicaid program. But senators also wanted legislation to allocate previously received federal money to help build a standalone children’s hospital in Wake County by two university medical schools and for rural health investments. Despite previously spending toward these projects, House Republicans are now having second thoughts about completing these investments.

    The legislature had already planned to convene next week, but any action or recorded votes is unlikely. Stein said restoring the rates only adds to the urgency for legislators to act and locate more funds.

    “If the legislature would simply do its job and pass a budget that fully funded Medicaid, we never would have had to start this entire enterprise,” Stein said.

    Sangvai acknowledged the program would not run out of money until the spring. But he said restoring the rates means his agency is left only with scaling back or eliminating programs and services to find significant savings.

    “It’s really a situation we hate to consider because the consequences could in fact be catastrophic,” Sangvai said.

    As state and federal health care spending continue growing, Burgin said it’s a top priority of his to reduce the number of people who make so little money that they qualify for Medicaid. 

    “We have 3.1 million people on Medicaid,” Burgin told WRAL Wednesday. “Almost a third of our population is on Medicaid. We need to be working on how to reduce the cost of health care — and how to get people into jobs, so they don’t have to be on Medicaid.”

     Eligibility ranges by family size and other factors but, for one example, a single mother would qualify for Medicaid for herself and her child if she made $29,196 or less per year. That’s the equivalent of about $14 per hour on a full-time schedule.

    North Carolina’s Medicaid program spent $19.4 billion last year on low-income patients, WRAL previously reported. Most of that money came from the federal government; about $5 billion came from state taxpayers.  

    The Associated Press and WRAL state government reporter Will Doran contributed to this report.

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  • Pentagon-backed RTP startup eyes Johnston County for rare-earth magnets plant

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    A Pentagon-backed Research Triangle Park startup could announce as soon as Tuesday plans for a major manufacturing plant in Johnston County — a deal that, if consummated, could make North Carolina a U.S. hub for rare-earth magnets.

    RTP-based Vulcan Elements earlier this month announced a $1.4 billion deal with the federal government that would help the company meet its goal of producing up to 10,000 metric tons of Neodymium Iron Boron magnets over several years. The magnets are used in commercial products such as medical devices, electric vehicles, wind turbines, computer chips, and in defense applications such as fighter jets, nuclear submarines and satellites.

    People familiar with the effort told WRAL that the company has been considering an expansion that could create upwards of 1,000 jobs and an investment approaching $1 billion. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the negotiations. 

    There is no guarantee North Carolina will land the plant, the people said. Vulcan Chief Executive John Maslin told WRAL News this month that the company was engaged in a monthslong, multi-state hunt for expansion sites and that the company expected to make an announcement by the end of November. 

    A Vulcan spokesman on Monday declined to comment on the company’s plans. 

    The Johnston County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday morning is holding a special public hearing, where it could approve a proposed economic development agreement for an undisclosed manufacturer considering an expansion in Banner Township. The hearing would follow a meeting of the state Commerce Department’s Economic Investment Committee, which approves state incentives for companies with plans to expand in North Carolina. After the meetings, Gov. Josh Stein is scheduled to make an economic development announcement at an industrial property near the Johnston County town of Benson. 

    County economic development officials declined to identify the company or describe the project, which was described in a public hearing notice that also didn’t identify the company. David Rhoades, a spokesman for the state Department of Commerce, also declined to discuss the nature of the state’s meeting, adding that the state’s corporate recruiters frequently have discussions with companies about expansion plans. “We don’t comment on those discussions until the companies make a public announcement of their decision,” he said.

    Other people familiar with the negotiations told WRAL News that Vulcan would be the subject of those discussions and the announcement. 

    Economic development deals are often kept secret, protected from the state’s open records laws to enable state and local governments to negotiate with companies and to allow companies to explore options before finalizing major decisions. 

    It’s common for state and local officials to coordinate the timing of economic development meetings around corporate announcements. Officials often vote on incentives ahead of major economic development announcements, and often on the same day. Public meetings intended to discuss incentives are typically scheduled only after a company has committed to a location.

    Stein’s announcement is at the Crosspoint Logistics Center. The project identified in the county notice is proposing its expansion at Crosspoint,  which is south of the nexus of Interstate 95 and I-40. 

    The state’s performance-based incentives packages are often reserved for companies that plan to create lots of jobs that pay above the county average. Grants are typically paid out if the company meets annual hiring and investment targets. 

    The county is considering a proposal that includes economic incentives in the form of annual cash grants over a 15-year period — to be paid only after job-creation and investment targets have been met, according to the county notice. 

    “The county believes this project will help stimulate the local economy, result in new taxable capital investments in real and personal property increasing the tax base, and cause the creation by the company of a substantial number of new, permanent jobs,” the county’s hearing announcement said. 

    Federal funding boost

    The federal government’s interest in Vulcan is centered on its efforts to strengthen the nation’s domestic supply of rare-earth magnets.

    The U.S. Department of Commerce said Nov. 3 that it struck a preliminary agreement to receive a $50 million equity stake in Vulcan. The company’s expansion would be financed in part by a $620 million direct loan from the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital, $50 million of federal incentives from the Department of Commerce under the CHIPS and Science Act, and $550 million in private capital, the company said. Indiana-based ReElement Technologies would also expand its recycling and processing capabilities under the deal, with help from an $80 million direct loan from the Pentagon, matched by private capital.

    The planned federal incentives for Vulcan would fund equipment used for the domestic production of its magnets. ReElement Technologies processes end-of-life magnets, electronic waste, and mined concentrates into high-purity rare earth oxides.

    “We know that here in the United States, we need resilient, secure supply chains, both for national security, but also for economic resilience,” Maslin, the Vulcan CEO, told WRAL News in an interview after the deal was struck with the federal government. “If we want to win the AI race, these go in data centers, if we want to build out drones for agriculture, consumer delivery, if we want to lead the robotics revolution, if we want to build cars in this country, we need to make sure that we have capacity of critical components here in the US.

    Vulcan Elements’ magnets have already been delivered to customers in the defense and technology sectors. Vulcan and ReElement have worked together to help strengthen domestic supply of rare-earth magnets to build security around some of the nation’s most important sectors, executives said.

    “Our investment in Vulcan Elements will accelerate U.S. production of rare earth magnets for American manufacturers,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said in a statement after the federal financing deal was struck earlier this month. “We are laser-focused on bringing critical mineral and rare earth manufacturing back home, ensuring America’s supply chain is strong, secure and perfectly reliable.” 

    WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran contributed to this report. 

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  • As Senate race looms, Cooper and Whatley weigh-in on Charlotte immigration crackdown

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    President Donald Trump’s deployment of immigration agents in Charlotte is becoming a centerpiece of debate in the battle for North Carolina’s open U.S. Senate seat. 

    The Department of Homeland Security last weekend launched “Operation Charlotte’s Web” in the Queen City against the objection of city officials who said the move was unnecessary. Border Patrol agents arrested more than 130 immigrants who are believed to be in the U.S. illegally, the department said Monday. 

    The move comes about a year prior to next year’s midterm elections, when North Carolinians will be asked to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis. The two-term Republican isn’t seeking reelection.

    The frontrunners in the race weighed in on the crackdown Monday, underscoring the importance of immigration policy on the race.

    Former Gov. Roy Cooper, who is expected to win the Democratic nomination in March, is casting the operation as inefficient.

    He echoed the concern of other critics who have accused immigration agents of targeting nonviolent immigrants — sometimes U.S. citizens — based on their race or ethnicity.

    “I’ve prosecuted violent criminals and fought to keep them behind bars, so I know the importance of using federal resources to deport violent criminals and keep our borders strong,” Cooper said in a statement Monday. 

    He continued: “But randomly sweeping up people based on what they look like, including American citizens and those with no criminal records, risks leaving violent criminals at large while hurting families and the economy.”

    Meanwhile, Republican candidates are praising Border Patrol’s efforts. 

    Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chairman who President Donald Trump endorsed in the race, said immigration agents are “taking criminal illegal aliens identified as murderers, rapists, and pedophiles off the streets of Charlotte.”

    Don Brown, another Republican in the race, claimed that local law enforcement doesn’t have the resources to crack down on immigration, saying: “I welcome the Border Patrol to Charlotte today as we take important steps toward a safer, stronger city.”

    Immigration and crime in recent years have been top issues for North Carolina voters, according to polling by WRAL and other groups. Republicans are expected to campaign heavily on the issue as they attempt to keep the U.S. Senate under GOP control. Democrats hope to flip four Senate seats and take a majority in the chamber. North Carolina is home to one of only two GOP-held seats that the nonpartisan Cook Political Report considers a toss up.

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  • DMV boss tells NC lawmakers wait times are down, but key funding is running low

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    On his sixth-month anniversary of taking over one of the state government’s most troubled agencies, Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Paul Tine came to the legislature Thursday to give an update on how it’s been going.

    Tine painted a rosy picture and provided some statistics to back it up. And lawmakers on the Transportation Oversight Committee appeared mostly pleased with what they heard — a notable change from their testy relationship with Tine’s predecessor Wayne Goodwin.

    Goodwin led the DMV in former Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration before resigning this summer, under increasing pressure from the public and new Gov. Josh Stein, over long lines and other issues.

    Wait times are down nearly an hour since the summer, Tine said:

    • July average wait time: Two hours and 11 minutes
    • October average wait time: One hour and 19 minutes

    Part of that is because the summer is peak season for the DMV, but another part of it is new laws aimed at letting people do more online without needing to go to a DMV, as well as expanded weekend hours and self-service DMV kiosks in a growing number of grocery stores around the state.

    But there’s no new state budget, and Tine cautioned lawmakers that if they want to see those expanded Saturday hours continue into 2026, they need to fund it soon. The money set aside to pay for those extra hours is expected to run out in February or March, he told the committee Thursday.

    “We’d love to keep them open, but we’re going to have to figure that out,” he said.

    To people who still need to go in person, Tine said he needed to publicize two tips:

    1. You don’t need an appointment.
      1. There’s very little reason to show up hours before the office even opens, like many people have been doing, especially as the weather grows colder, he said. Tine said he he doesn’t want people standing around for hours for minimal benefit to themselves.

        “You don’t have to show up early,” Tine said. “People are just creating an extra long wait for themselves by coming in at 5 a.m., 4 a.m., 3 a.m. I mean, if you’ve got to be the first person in and out in the morning — fine. But otherwise, we’re going to get you in the system.”

        The presentation Tine gave on Thursday was essentially the same as the one he gave last week to a different group of state lawmakers. But Thursday offered more chances for members of the state legislature to hear the updates and ask him questions.

        Tine said one of the fixes he’s worked hardest on is improving morale at the agency, which has faced scrutiny for years by the general public, the local media and, most recently, by State Auditor Dave Boliek. The theory is that being able to stop or at least slow down turnover at the already-understaffed agency should help keep up the improvements.

        Delays and staff shortages initially caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have been exacerbated in the five years since by a combination of low pay for DMV workers, an influx of new customers needing to get REAL IDs, and state funding that hasn’t kept pace with North Carolina’s booming population. 

        The Office of the State Auditor released two audits in August that detailed a deteriorating customer experience at the DMV, including increasing wait times caused in part by employee burnout, low staffing and aging technology. North Carolina’s population jumped 30%, but DMV staffing only jumped 10% over the last 15 years, members of the auditor’s office told lawmakers last week.

        Tine has also credited legislative changes with easing the ID-renewal process and workload on the division. And he said the division is working on a request for funding and flexibility with job requisitions.

        State lawmakers approved $1.2 million in funding for the division in August to hire more license examiner positions. More than 60 new positions created by the funding were filled less than a month after the money was approved — a considerable feat, considering the state has had difficulty filling jobs across agencies as it competes for talent with the private sector.

        Hiring a new state employee is typically a months-long process, but Tine said Stein moved resources around inside of state government to fast-track those new hires. There are now dozens more DMV workers across the state because of that, he said, all in place months ahead of schedule.

        “The governor called me and said, ‘You have 30 days to hire all of these new positions,’ which I thought was aggressive,” Tine told lawmakers Thursday. “But I said, ‘Okay, let’s go.’ And he gave me [human resources help] and full support with [the N.C. Department of] Commerce… and then we were able to hire all of those in the first 30 days.”

        About 4.1% of the DMV’s examiner positions are currently vacant, down from 10.9% in April, Tine said. But he reiterated the need for more funding to hire more people, reminding lawmakers that the state has been booming even as the DMV’s budget has actually shrunk in recent years.

        “Funding is going to is a concern of mine for this year,” he said. “We are issuing more licenses. We’re seeing more people. We’re doing more operations. But we still have the same funding that we had before. Actually, less.”

        No one on the committee promised any more money — legislative leaders recently said they don’t plan to pass a new budget at all this year due to political disagreements between Republicans in the House and Senate — but they did express confidence in Tine to keep improvements coming.

        “I need you do a good job, but you’ve exceeded my expectations so far,” the oversight committee chairman, Rep. Phil Iler (R-Brunswick) told Tine Thursday. “I know you’re not done. You’re just getting started, and you really got a good business plan.”

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  • NC Democratic leader calls on GOP leaders to remove Democrat Brockman from House

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    The North Carolina Democratic Party leader is calling on Republican legislative leaders to remove a Democratic state representative when lawmakers return to Raleigh next week. And Republican lawmakers are examining how they could do it.

    State Rep. Cecil Brockman, D-Guilford, was arrested earlier this month and charged with two counts of statutory sex offense with a child and two additional counts of indecent liberties with a child. Brockman, 41, has represented High Point in the state legislature for more than a decade.

    Democratic North Carolina Governor Josh Stein, the North Carolina Democratic Party, and leaders of both parties in the state House of Representatives called on Brockman to resign shortly after news of Brockman’s charges emerged. 

    Brockman hasn’t commented on the charges, and he hasn’t resigned. As of Friday, he was being held in a High Point jail on a $1.05 million bond.

    Lawmakers are scheduled to return to Raleigh Monday to begin the process of redrawing the state’s congressional districts. 

    Anderson Clayton, chairwoman of the state Democratic Party, says that if Brockman hasn’t resigned by then, lawmakers should start the process of removing him from the state House. 

    Clayton said Republican House Speaker Destin Hall — who has already called on Brockman to resign — should remove the Democrat immediately so that his constituents have representation in the chamber. 

    “Destin Hall should bring folks back to Raleigh and they should remove [Brockman] from the legislature,” Clayton said, adding: “We should make sure that places like High Point have representation right now in Raleigh.” 

    Hall’s office told WRAL Friday that the speaker is reviewing House rules and constitutional requirements for removing a member, saying Hall is willing to remove Brockman if he doesn’t resign in a timely fashion. Hall said last week that the charges against Brockman are “shocking and extremely serious,” calling on him to resign so that he doesn’t distract from the legislature’s work. 

    Prosecutors alleged in an Oct. 10 court hearing that the victim’s cellphone contained video evidence of illicit acts. The State Bureau of Investigation recognized Brockman in the videos, prosecutors said. 

    Brockman and his lawyer didn’t respond to calls or emails seeking comment. Drew Gibson, a legislative assistant for Brockman, told WRAL that Brockman has no comment on the charges or the calls to resign. 

    Clayton says she hasn’t heard from Brockman either. She reiterated that he should step down, alleging that he has lost the community’s trust and can no longer effectively represent them.

    “You can’t exactly help people from a jail cell,” Clayton said.

    She continued: “The charges that were brought against Representative Brockman were serious charges, and we believe that anybody that’s accused of something like that and has been held on a million dollar bond right now does not deserve to represent the people of North Carolina.” 

    The state Democratic Party cannot remove Brockman from office but state legislators can. The state House of Representatives in 2008 voted 109-5 to remove Wilmington Democratic Rep. Thomas Wright from office after he was charged with using campaign funds for personal purchases and abusing his political power to get a loan.

    It’s unlikely that Brockman — or any Democrat alone — would affect the outcome on votes over new congressional maps. Republicans hold strong majorities in the state Senate and state House, and state law doesn’t allow the governor to veto redistricting bills.

    The governor can — and has — vetoed other bills. And Brockman’s absence could hinder the Democrats’ ability to uphold those vetoes. 

    The bills would loosen North Carolina’s gun laws and eliminate diversity policies in state agencies, among other things. Legislators can override Stein’s vetoes by passing those bills with 60% support. 

    Republicans hold a veto-proof majority in the Senate but not in the House of Representatives, where they came one seat short in the most recent elections. If Brockman is out and all other House members are present, Republicans only need one Democrat to vote with the GOP, or to be absent from the vote, to override Stein’s veto.

    If Brockman resigns, the governor would be required by state law to appoint a replacement who is recommended by members of the Guilford County Democratic Party. 

    Kathy Kirkpatrick, the chairwoman of the Guilford County Democratic Party, told WRAL last week that the allegations against Brockman seemed “totally out of character” for him.

    Guilford County prosecutors said the alleged victim, who is 15, lived together with Brockman for a period near Atlanta, Georgia, the city where prosecutors say they had met on a dating app.

    Brockman called emergency dispatchers on Oct. 5 to report a missing friend and said he had been tracking the person using an app, prosecutors said. After sending a ride-share vehicle to pick up the juvenile in Davidson County, the driver couldn’t find the alleged victim and canceled the ride, according to prosecutors. At that point, High Point police became involved and later, the State Bureau of Investigation launched an investigation, prosecutors said.

    Footage found on the victim’s phone showed acts consistent with what the victim described to them during an interview, prosecutors said. They said Brockman tried to contact the alleged victim, who was being treated at a nearby hospital. Prosecutors said Brockman attempted to push his way through a locked door at the facility and alleged in court documents that the lawmaker attempted to contact a victim in the hospital and that he attempted to “use his status to gain information on the whereabouts of the victim.”

    During the Oct. 10 hearing, the judge ordered Brockman not to contact the alleged victim.

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