Dear interested parties for the Center for N.C. Politics & Public Service,


As we await cooler temps for this coming weekend, the state's politics are certainly heating in preparation for 2026.


I want to share a number of articles and information that folks may find of interest.

ROY'S RUNNING...AND NOW WE'RE WAITING ON WHATLEY


It's now official: former N.C. Governor Roy Cooper has announced his campaign to seek the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. I wrote a brief analysis of Cooper's past electoral 'coalitions' in the various regions of the state and posted it to the Center's blog:


https://www.oldnorthstatepolitics.com/2025/07/roys-running.html


You can also find this article on the Center's Substack (and sign up for notifications when new articles are posted) at: https://substack.com/@ncpoliticscenter/p-169471910

For those interested in national dynamics when it comes to voting, the M.I.T. Elections Lab presented a recent webinar on their Survey of the Performance of American Elections, which focuses on:

 

  • Voting that takes place outside of a polling place (absentee voting, for example);
  • Voter behaviors and experiences that states often track in different ways, like turnout; and,
  • Voter attitudes toward their own experience with voting (regardless of whether they cast an absentee ballot or voted at a polling place)


Three interesting findings were shared yesterday from their study:


First, as is the case in North Carolina, more votes across America were cast before Election Day than on Election Day. And in particular, partisan divides on which type of voting method was evident, as shown in this chart:

In 2024's election, only 21 percent of the total ballots cast from North Carolinians came on Election Day.


Second, 96 percent of respondents expressed "very" or "somewhat" confidence that their 2024 votes were counted as intended.

You can find the Catawba-YouGov survey results of North Carolinians and their levels of confidence in the 2024 election (both pre- and post-election) at: https://www.oldnorthstatepolitics.com/2025/05/nc-confidence-in-2024-elections.html


Third, both Republicans and Democrats nationwide support the use of Photo ID:

You can read the report and watch the webinar at: https://electionlab.mit.edu/research/projects/survey-performance-american-elections

In our partnership with the Carter Center and the N.C. Network for Fair, Safe, & Secure Elections, we want to share some interesting articles from time to time about efforts to address polarization and division in our nation.


Americans are increasingly turning to social media platforms for news, despite it fueling misinformation. This Forbes article examines recent trends in media consumption and details how it impacts how we engage with one another.


93% of Americans say it is important to reduce divisiveness in the United States, according to a Public Agenda/USA TODAY Hidden Common Ground survey fielded in 2021.


Fear, fueled by social media algorithms and political rhetoric, is undermining the health of our democratic society. This Psychology Today article explains how anger and anxiety lead to democratic backsliding, and how we as a country can resist the cycle of negativity and build resilience.

AN UPDATE ON THE REGISTRATION REPAIR PROJECT

OF THE N.C. STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS:


The "Registration Repair Project," undertaken by the N.C. State Board of Elections, is well underway to gather missing information from North Carolina registered voters.


The project began with over 103,000 North Carolinians needing to submit information. As of the morning of Wednesday, July 30, that number was down to 95,223, or just about 8 percent of the initial group.


Voters who do not have either an N.C. driver's license/DMV ID or the last four digits of their social security number in their record may need to cast a provisional ballot and provide this information the next time they vote.


You can search the Registration Repair Search Tool to see if your NC voter registration information needs updating; the search tool can be found at: https://dl.ncsbe.gov/RegistrationRepair/index.html


You can find more information on this NCSBE project at: https://www.ncsbe.gov/news/press-releases/2025/07/17/state-board-launches-registration-repair-project-ensure-accurate-complete-voter-rolls


In addition, at the NC Politics Center's blog Old North State Politics, contributor Dr. Chris Cooper has analyzed the initial group of RRP voters, as well as tracking who has 'repaired' their voter registration information. You can find his ongoing analysis at the blog: https://www.oldnorthstatepolitics.com/2025/07/an-analysis-of-registration-recovery.html


Dr. Cooper was also on WFAE's Charlotte Talks to talk about the project--you can find the show link here: https://www.wfae.org/show/charlotte-talks-with-mike-collins/2025-07-29/some-north-carolina-voters-need-to-fix-their-voter-registration-do-you

You can find the N.C. Politics Center on various social media platforms:



Please join the N.C. Politics Center on your favorite social media platform for more information. Thanks for your interest in the Center for N.C. Politics & Public Service.


Dr. Michael Bitzer

Director, Center for N.C. Politics & Public Service

Leonard Chair of Political Science

Professor of Politics & History

Catawba College

Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service | 2300 W Innes St | Salisbury, NC 28144 US

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