North Carolina
NC Republican lawmakers seek fall referendum on citizen-only voting
RALEIGH, N.C. — In a move that could boost fall turnout among conservatives, North Carolina Republican legislators advanced a proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday to make it clear that only U.S. citizens can vote in the state. It would retool language on the books that already limit balloting to U.S.-born or naturalized citizens 18 and older.
A House election-law panel voted to put the question on statewide ballots this November, when races for president, governor and other statewide and legislative races will be contested. Republicans have enough General Assembly members on their own to initiate the referendum if they remain united on the idea.
Republican legislatures in at least six states already have agreed to place noncitizen voting measures on the fall ballots, including Wisconsin, another presidential battleground. Supporters elsewhere have been stressing a Republican campaign theme that immigrants crossing into the country illegally at the Mexican border could somehow vote in this fall’s high-stakes elections.
It is already illegal in the U.S. for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. And North Carolina’s current state constitution notes that voting is limited to “every person born in the United States and every person who has been naturalized, 18 years of age,” provided they meet other qualifications. The Republican-backed amendment would rework the line to read, “Only a citizen of the United States who is 18 years of age.”
The bill’s chief sponsors – House Speaker Tim Moore among them – have said the proposal is about preserving election integrity and preventing potential foreign influence in elections.
Another sponsor, House Rules Committee Chairman Destin Hall, told the committee that some have suggested the constitution’s current language “may be a floor up rather than the ceiling of who can vote,” and that “the fear is that some future court could decide that that’s not a limitation on everybody who can vote.”
Some local jurisdictions – including San Francisco and the District of Columbia – have begun allowing immigrants who aren’t citizens to vote in local races for school board or city council. Hall mentioned the large number of recent illegal border crossings from Mexico while pitching the need for the language.
The proposal “makes it absolutely clear and removes all reasonable doubt that only citizens can vote in our state’s elections,” he said.
Democrats on the committee criticized the proposal as unnecessary and a waste of time and resources. State voter registration applications already make clear that voting is limited to citizens, and that lying about it on the form is a low-grade felony.
“I feel like we’re chasing a problem that doesn’t exist,” said Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Guilford County Democrat. “It just seems like we are creating a situation that might be chilling new citizens’ desire to vote.”
A 2016 election audit in North Carolina found that 41 legal immigrants who had not yet become citizens cast ballots, out of 4.8 million total ballots cast that fall. The state now lists nearly 7.5 million registered voters.
The federal prosecutor’s office in eastern North Carolina said in 2021 that it had charged 24 people over the previous 18 months while investigating allegations of voter-related fraud, which included accusations of noncitizens illegally voting or falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to register to vote.
Ann Webb with voting advocacy group Common Cause North Carolina spoke against the referendum in committee, calling it an “attempt to spread lies that cast doubt on our elections and divide us, fostering an environment where prejudice and violence can thrive.”
While constitutional amendments aren’t subject to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto, proposals can’t be brought before voters unless 72 of the House’s 120 members and 30 of the Senate’s 50 members vote yes. Republicans have exactly those numbers of members in the respective chambers.
A simple majority of voters in November would have to vote yes on the referendum question for the language to be edited into the constitution.
Pro-amendment speaker Kevrick McKain with Americans For Citizen Voting, a national organization that aims to advance amendments to make voting the exclusive right of U.S. citizens, said an amendment would give “we the people the right to weigh in on our state’s law, instead of letting the state be vulnerable to interpretations.”
A House committee now has to approve the measure before it can go to the House for a full vote.
Senate leader Phil Berger seems open to the idea.
“I think you can make a legalistic argument that something like that is already prohibited,” Berger told reporters in late April. “However, I don’t see any harm in including that as a constitutional amendment. We’ll see if there’s enough support.”
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An AMBER Alert has been issued for a 15-year-old New Bern boy after police say he was abducted at gunpoint from a motel early Saturday morning.
According to the New Bern Police Department, officers responded around 3:15 a.m. to the Palace Motel, located at 1901 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., after receiving a report of a child abduction.
Police said two adults inside the motel room told officers they had been asleep with two boys — 15-year-old Isaiah Kavon Owens and 13-year-old Kenneth Brantley Jr. — when they were awakened by someone banging on the door.
According to investigators, Larry Tompkins opened the door and encountered multiple people, including Kenneth Lee Brantley Sr., the father of Kenneth Brantley Jr.
Police said Brantley pointed a gun at Tompkins before taking both boys from the room and leaving in a black 2012 GMC Yukon Denali XL with South Carolina license plate XFH752.
Authorities said Brantley may be traveling to his residence in Marion, South Carolina. A statewide BOLO (Be On the Lookout) has been issued for the vehicle.
The North Carolina Center for Missing Persons issued an AMBER Alert Friday morning at the request of the New Bern Police Department.
Isaiah is described as a Black male, 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing approximately 100 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a white hooded sweatshirt, black pants and red-and-blue sneakers.
Police said Isaiah is autistic and has a speech delay.
Investigators said arrest warrants have been obtained for Brantley charging him with the abduction and endangerment of Isaiah Owens.
The New Bern Police Department said it is working with local, state, out-of-state and federal law enforcement agencies to locate Isaiah and ensure his safe return.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the New Bern Police Department at 252-633-2020, their local law enforcement agency, or call 911 immediately.
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Authorities advise the public not to approach Brantley.
A man once given the nickname Cardiac Kemba due to his heart-stopping heroics at the University of Connecticut, Kemba Walker is back to breathe life into the 704’s youth basketball community.
The Charlotte Hornets’ legend officially opened the Kemba Walker Sports Academy in Concord, North Carolina this afternoon, a multi-sport facility just north of Charlotte that’s mission is “to provide a safe, fun, and inclusive environment for athletes to learn, grow, excel and compete.”
At a ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of the 54,000 square foot facility, Walker took some time to answer questions from assembled media about his latest venture that was created with community in mind.
“It’s really bigger than, you know, basketball,” said the Hornets’ all-time leading scorer this afternoon when talking about the academy. “We want the kids to have some discipline and really teach them how to work hard you know? That’s what we’re chasing. We’re chasing something that’s much bigger than the actual sport.”
It’s a bold vision, and one that Walker has dreamed of fulfilling since he was a kid suiting up for his childhood AAU program, the New York Gauchos.
“(The Gauchos’ facility) is probably not quite like this. It’s not as big as this. But that was my safe space, you know? That was the place I was able to go to, to enjoy the game of basketball and meet some of my closest friends that I still have to this day who actually run this place.”
Walker has been a pillar of the grassroots basketball community in Charlotte since he was a baby-faced, 20-something-year-old suiting up for the Bobcats. And even though he spent some time playing elsewhere in his professional basketball career, the four-time All-Star has considered the Queen City his domain since draft night.
“I never left, first of all” said Walker when asked about returning to the Hornets as an assistant coach and being able to now give back to the community that embraced him with open arms when he was drafted in 2011. “Obviously, I went to a couple of different teams and, you know, my path took me to a couple of different places, but I always kept my house here, and my family was always here, and whenever I had time in the summer, something like that, I was always here.”
“But it is amazing to be back. I love Charlotte.”
And Charlotte loves him back.
Walker stamped his name in the franchise record books with a successful career on the court, but he forever endeared himself into the community by embracing the basketball-crazed city he didn’t have a single tie to until he was drafted there.
The Kemba Walker Sports Academy will host its first grassroots basketball event this weekend, the Kemba Walker Invitational, where AAU teams from across the country (including Walker’s own New York Gauchos) will convene in Concord to christen the facility.
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ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Home sales in western North Carolina have increased since last year, according to the latest report from a realtor group.
Canopy MLS, a subsidiary of the Canopy Realtor Association, reports that May home sales across the four-county Asheville area (Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, and Madison counties) reflected a spring market that remains “active and competitive.”
NETWORKING EVENT FOCUSES ON HELENE RECOVERY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, PLANS MOVING FORWARD
A total of 592 homes closed in May, representing a 6.3 percent increase compared to May 2025 and a 2.1 percent gain over April, the report said. Buyer demand continued to strengthen, with pending sales, a leading indicator of future closings, surging 22.4 percent year over year as 728 properties went under contract during the month.
“The strength of buyer demand in May is encouraging and reflects continued confidence in the Asheville region as a place to live, work and invest,” said Dave Noyes, a Realtor/Designated Managing Broker with eXp Realty and Canopy MLS Board of Director, in a news release. “
ASHEVILLE HOUSING MARKET SHOWS STEADY STRENGTH AS INVENTORY RISES ACROSS REGION
Contract activity also increased 7.1 percent compared to April, signaling that buyers remained engaged despite mortgage rates averaging approximately 6.5 percent throughout May, the report said.
“Buyers are adapting to today’s mortgage rates and taking advantage of the increased inventory we’ve seen over the past year. Although fewer new listings came onto the market in May, homes continue to attract strong interest, which is helping maintain a healthy balance between supply and demand as we head into the summer months,” Noyes said.
While buyer activity increased , new listing activity moderated. Sellers introduced 1,165 homes to the market in May, a 6.7 percent decline compared to the same month last year and a 7.7 percent decrease from April. Even so, the region’s inventory of homes for sale continued to expand, rising 3.2 percent year over year to 3,092 properties at report time. Months of supply, however, declined from six months in May 2025 to 5.4 months this past May, suggesting that the pace of buyer demand is absorbing available inventory faster than new listings are being added.
The report said that although buyers have more choices than a year ago, the market remains relatively balanced, with strong contract activity continuing to support overall sales momentum.
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