The North Carolina Supreme Court docket on Friday struck down a compulsory voter ID legislation and blocked a newly redrawn state Senate map favoring Republicans. File Photograph by Derek Hatfield/Shutterstock
Dec. 17 (UPI) — The North Carolina Supreme Court docket has struck down a voter ID legislation whereas additionally blocking a newly redrawn state Senate map that will have given Republicans irrefutable management of that chamber.
The courtroom on Friday additionally dominated {that a} revised state Home map handed earlier within the 12 months can go forward.
The entire 4-3 rulings fell alongside occasion strains within the courtroom, which presently has a Democratic majority.
A legislation that will have required photograph identification at polls had confronted quite a few authorized challenges and was by no means applied. Friday’s choice by the courtroom discovered the legislation violates the equal safety assure of Article I, part 19 of the North Carolina Structure.
“No individual shall be denied the equal safety of the legal guidelines; nor shall any individual be subjected to discrimination by the State due to race, coloration, faith, or nationwide origin,” the state’s structure reads.
Nevertheless, the courtroom additionally rubber-stamped two selections made by legislators in February for brand spanking new maps for the U.S. Home of Representatives and state Home districts. It additionally dominated a one-time map used for this 12 months’s election was constitutional.
“Such a plan is topic to strict scrutiny and is unconstitutional until the Normal Meeting can display that the plan is ‘narrowly tailor-made to advance a compelling governmental curiosity,’” the courtroom dominated.
The order to redraw the state Senate map applies “solely to the extent needed to realize constitutional compliance,” state Supreme Court docket Affiliate Justice Robin Hudson wrote within the courtroom’s opinion.
The excessive courtroom, in the meantime, ordered legislators to redraw district maps, ruling the gerrymandered congressional maps violate North Carolina’s structure. The legislative maps gave Republicans as many as 11 protected districts in comparison with simply three for Democrats.
“We have to return to the drafting board, and work in good religion to go a voter ID legislation that may go constitutional muster,” Senate Democratic chief Dan Blue stated in an announcement.
“It’s my hope that Republican lawmakers will redraw the legislative maps as wanted to treatment gerrymandering and never use their majority to make the most of the courtroom choice and broadly redraw legislative maps to their profit.” he added. “We have to repair the issues in these maps, and never create extra authorized issues. Let’s right this, transfer on, and get to work addressing the challenges dealing with North Carolina households.”
Republicans vowed to revisit the problems subsequent 12 months.
They’re feeling a little hot under the collard.
Come-hither cultivators vying for the title of North Carolina’s “sexiest collard farmer” are wilting with disappointment because they got down and dirty entering steamy pictures — only to be told they should have put some dressing on that salad.
“I’m a little disappointed that this year they did not post my picture,” said farmer and defending champion Lee Berry, referring to the contest organizer’s Facebook page.
Berry, 54, submitted a photo of himself wearing what he thought any true sex symbol of collard greenery should wear – nothing but collard greens themselves – and was sure he would clinch the crown again.
But the competition’s organizer – who holds voting for the contest on his Facebook page, “The State You’re In” – said he feared Berry’s photo might get flagged by Facebook’s censors and bring the entire contest crashing down.
“You don’t want to lose your account for posting nudity or things like that,” said the organizer, who asked to remain unnamed, to the Telegraph.
“There’s three photos that I didn’t even want to post on social media,” he added.
Though Berry’s photo remains in the running, rather than being featured at the top of the page along with more than 20 other competitors he was asked to post his photo in the comments below the vote.
Since the winner is determined by the photo that get the most “likes,” Berry thinks his chances of reclaiming the crown are seriously limited by his photo’s reduced exposure.
“I’m not whining and b—hing and griping, but I just, I would have loved to have known beforehand that that wasn’t going to be displayed,” he said.
And Berry isn’t the only entrant with a leaf to pick.
David Correll, 50, went all out to take down Berry this year and stripped down for a candle-lit photoshoot in a bathtub full of collard greens.
But his photo was bumped into the comments section, too, over fears it could be flagged by Facebook — leaving him somewhat baffled by the decision.
“My picture showed a lot less skin than a lot of pictures you can find on Facebook, so I’m not really sure why they decided to censor it a little bit, but that’s OK,” he said.
Facebook’s community standards bar sexually explicit or suggestive photos and specifically name “visible genitalia” or sex acts as being banned — none of which Berry, Correll or anybody in the running submitted.
But the organizer said he didn’t want to run the risk and plans to amend the entry rules for next year’s competition to keep things more deliberately PG.
“I think next year we’re going to make it where it’s a little more family friendly,” he said.
With voting due to close by Tuesday, the current favorite to take home the 2024 crown is Patrick Brown, of Brown Family Farms, whose photo of himself looking cool-eyed into the camera alongside a green bushel has garnered a commanding lead of more than 3,500 votes.
A website — http://www.CollardsOnly.com — has been set up to help organize the competition, which will turn the entrants’ photos into a calendar and raise funds to donate to Hurricane Helene victims.
Even though the crown may elude Berry and Correll this year, both know it’s all about fun at the end of the day.
“It’s all for fun, you know, just for laughs, and I’ve had a lot of phone calls from friends and some of my customers that got a real kick out of it, so that’s the main reason to do it, just to have a little fun,” Correll said.
NC State and North Carolina usually battle for in-state recruits up to a certain point, but some consider both schools until the end.
NC State travels to play at North Carolina at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, and this year’s contest has a twist. The Wolfpack will play against former teammates Joshua Harris, a 6-foot-4, 325-pound senior nose tackle, and senior safety Jakeen Harris, who have no relation to each other.
Harris is the starting safety and has 55 tackles, one tackle for loss and three passes broken up. Joshua Harris is on the second string and has 19 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble.
The NC Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024 results for each game:
07-11-14-26-48, Lucky Ball: 15
Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Day: 2-7-2, Fireball: 8
Evening: 8-0-3, Fireball: 9
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Day: 3-1-6-5, Fireball: 8
Evening: 6-9-0-6, Fireball: 9
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
02-12-20-22-29
Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
07-19-21-31-35
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
All North Carolina Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $599.
For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at North Carolina Lottery Offices. By mail, send a prize claim form, your signed lottery ticket, copies of a government-issued photo ID and social security card to: North Carolina Education Lottery, P.O. Box 41606, Raleigh, NC 27629. Prize claims less than $600 do not require copies of photo ID or a social security card.
To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a prize claim form and deliver the form, along with your signed lottery ticket and government-issued photo ID and social security card to any of these locations:
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at https://nclottery.com/.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Carolina Connect editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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