Current Actions

  • Don’t Turn NC into the State of Madness!

    Gov. Pat McCrory says he wants to rebrand North Carolina. Unfortunately, hard-line conservatives in the NC General Assembly are doing just that – and we’re becoming known across the nation as the “State of Madness.”

    There are bills to allow loaded guns in bars and schools, gut environmental protections, put legislators in charge of women’s health, let loan sharks charge higher rates, fire teacher assistants but give subsidies to private academies.

    Already this year, we have new laws that slash unemployment benefits, deny Medicaid coverage for 500,000 poor families, and give a new tax cut for 23 super-millionaires while ending the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit for 900,000 NC families!

    Here’s the kicker: To make it harder for people to vote and hold lawmakers accountable, there are also bills to cut the Early Voting period, ban most weekend voting, tax parents whose kids vote from their college address, require a government photo to vote, end Same-Day Registration, and more.

    This is crazy! Sign our petition below and tell Gov. McCrory that he needs to step up and take responsibility for this brand of madness. Thanks!

  • Protect the Integrity of Our Elections!

    Some legislators may think they are helping, but some of their ideas will result in longer lines and less secure elections. We must speak up and let them know where to draw the line. Don’t Mess Up Early Voting!

  • Virtual Lobby Day

    Thank you for joining us in telling the General Assembly to Respect Our Vote!

    As part of our Virtual Lobby Day, we are asking you to reach out to lawmakers by email, phone, or both. 

    Phone Calls

    While individual lawmakers may have varying views on voting rights, the General Assembly leadership will also be responsible for the fate of these bills. That is why we are asking that you call both of them. You can reach their offices at the numbers listed below:

    Rep. Thom Tillis - (919) 733-3451
    Speaker of the House of Representatives

    Sen. Phil Berger - (919) 733-5708
    Senate President Pro Tem 

    If you need some information to help put your message together, you can read this handout. 

    Emails

    Using the tool below will send an email to both elected officials listed above, plus your own House and Senate representatives. We have crafted a message which you can use, but we encourage you to edit it and make it your own!

  • Voters Choose Politicians, Not the Other Way Around!

    Leaders in the NC General Assembly have recently filed some of the most regressive bills since Jim Crow. Bills like H-451, S-666, S-667, H-589 and S-721 are blatant attacks on the voters those leaders fear most. This has to stop. Please sign this petition and tell members of the General Assembly to halt their attacks on voting in North Carolina.

  • Protect Our Elections!

    Early voting is under attack in the NC General Assembly. So is Sunday voting and same-day registration.

    House Majority Leader Rep. Edgar Starnes (R-Caldwell County) filed House Bill 451 last week – it’s called the Election Omnibus bill. This bill attacks the best parts of our election system. It cuts a week off the Early Voting period, bans Sunday voting, and ends same-day registration and straight-party voting.

    Take action now to protect our elections! Use the tool below to send an email to your own legislators as well as Speaker of the House Thom Tillis and Senate President Phil Berger.  

    Don't forget to sign your name at the bottom of the email!

  • Take Action Now – We Need Clean Elections!

    Governor McCrory has said he’s concerned with protecting the integrity of our elections and restoring confidence in government. North Carolina’s Public Campaign Fund does exactly that – it has dramatically reduced the special interest money in judicial campaigns and is a national model for clean elections.Contact Gov. McCrory today to tell him we need this program now more than ever! 

    You can call the Governor's office at (919) 733-5811, or send him an email below. 

  • Overturn Citizens United

    With its 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court essentially said that corporations are people and that political spending is entitled to protection under the First Amendment as free speech.

    Three years later, the increase in outside money, often from secret donors, is affecting elections at every level of government and is an unprecedented threat to the fairness of our political system.

    We ask our elected officials for federal and state legislative action to defend democracy from the corrupting effects of undue corporate power by increasing disclosure of political money, providing candidates with an option for voter-authorized public funding, and amending the United States Constitution to establish that:

    • 1) Corporations are not people and do not have the same constitutional rights as people, and
    • 2) Money is not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not the same as limiting free speech.

  • Protect Your Green!
    The merger of Duke Energy and Progress Energy has created the second biggest private utility in the world. Duke Energy is now spending millions on political donations, lobbying and clever public relations to avoid being a responsible energy company. Instead of focusing on conservation, it wants to charge residential customers higher rates to pay for more nuclear and fossil fuel power plants. Duke wants our green instead of going green.
  • Respect Our Vote - Oppose Voter ID!

    Dear supporter,

    Lawmakers in Raleigh are once again vowing to pass an ill-conceived voter ID law in North Carolina – and we need your help!

    Thousands of North Carolina voters lack a state-issued photo ID, according to the state Board of Elections. The reality is that any voter ID law will create an unfair, unnecessary and costly barrier that disproportionally impacts certain voters - especially seniors, African Americans, voters with disabilities and low income voters. It may sound simple, but it’s costly, complicated and does very little to prevent voter fraud.

    Please join us by asking your representatives in the NC General Assembly and Governor Pat McCrory to respect our vote. Tell them you strongly oppose any measures that would place additional burdens on eligible voters.

    Thank You!

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  • Take Action to Improve Wake County’s Early Voting Plan

    Please email the Wake County Board of Elections officials today and ask them to approve a strong plan that provides Early Voting opportunities for voters across the county. There’s no need to go backwards in 2012!

    We have included a sample email below, but please feel free to edit it. Here are some facts which may help you write your own message:

    • Wake County led the state in 2008 with more Early Voters than any other county – a total of 251,000 voters used Early Voting in Wake County.

    • The 2008 plan was not extreme when you consider that Wake County had 590,000 registered voters. In fact, the 2008 plan offered 2.5 hours of Early Voting opportunity for every 1,000 registered voters, which was less than 98 other counties! That’s right: Wake ranked 99th on the scale of Hours of EV Opportunity per 1,000 Registered Voters. Mecklenburg offered 3.7 hours per 1,000 registered voters.

    • These two pieces of info taken together – most votes cast, very low opportunity – shows that Wake was already squeezing things in 2008, which resulted in many days with long lines at some EV sites. To squeeze voting opportunities even more is a recipe for disaster.

  • Thank Governor Perdue and Friendly Legislators

    Political leaders get plenty of complaints but don’t often receive thanks for standing up for “we the people.” Please let Gov. Perdue and our legislative supporters know that you appreciate the work they did this session to stop bills that would make voting harder. Thanks!

  • Wake County Commissioners: Respect Our Vote!

    On Monday, March 19, the Wake County Board of Commissioners will vote on a resolution in support of House Bill 351, which requires voters to show a government issued photo ID every time they vote.

    House Bill 351 is one of the most extreme voter ID bills in the nation and was vetoed by Governor Perdue last year. Republicans in the General Assembly continue to push a handful of conservative Democrats to join them in voting to override the veto but so far, thanks to the actions of advocates like you, they have failed.

    Send the commissioners an email letting them know you oppose House Bill 351 and any other measure that infringes on voters’ rights.



  • NC budget writers put politics ahead of our democracy

    Through an extremely partisan move, Republican budget writers have denied North Carolina voters over $4 million that would help NC elections run smoothly in 2012!

    Election officials say they need the money for their plans to open more Early Voting locations, train poll workers, and maintain their voting machines. The funds – from the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) – are in a state bank account, but they will not be released because the General Assembly refuses to appropriate about $660,000 of matching funds in its new 2012-13 budget.

    The bipartisan Association of County Election Boards unanimously passed a resolution on April 4 urging release of the HAVA funds. Don’t let NC be the Florida fiasco of 2012!

    Contact your NC Budget Leaders and tell them "shame on you for putting partisan politics ahead of our democracy"!

    For more information, see the fact sheet at: http://bit.ly/HAVAFactsheet

  • One Quick Call to Thank Rep. Butterfield!

    Thank G.K. Butterfield for taking a stand against corporate control of politics!

    U.S. Rep. Butterfield is the first NC member of Congress to sign on as a co-sponsor of the federal Shareholder Protection Act, which would require corporations to receive shareholder approval for political spending. This reform is one step toward rolling back the impact of the US Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling, which gave corporations and unions a green light to spend unlimited funds on election advocacy. 

    Please take a moment to thank Congressman Butterfield for co-sponsoring this important legislation. Enter your zip code to get started.

  • Cut the Strings!

    Cut Corporate Control of Politics

    Art Pope uses his corporation as a political money machine. He is North Carolina’s top political donor. His business, Variety Wholesalers (which owns Roses, Maxway and other discount stores), funds groups that spend millions to elect ultra-conservative politicians. Once elected, they push Pope's anti-government agenda like his puppets: cut taxes for the wealthy, cut services for the rest of us, suppress voting rights, and gut environmental, workplace, and consumer protections.

    Elections across the nation are being distorted by corporate cash given with strings attached. The US Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision said that corporations have a Free Speech right to spend unlimited money interfering in political campaigns. That's absurd and Art Pope’s Roses/Maxway business is the worst example here in North Carolina.

    Cut the strings! Sign our petition to tell Pope and elected officials: "Stop the flood of corporate money in politics." We'll deliver the message, and tell you about their response and next steps.

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    Yowzers, Rouzer! Cozying Up to Lobbyists?

    It’s against NC law for a state legislator to take campaign donations from registered lobbyists. But TODAY State Sen. David Rouzer of Smithfield is doing just that- because he's running for Congress instead.

    We can do better in North Carolina! Tell Rouzer, "We're watching! Don't take money from lobbyists!"

    It only takes a few minutes-- send Rouzer an email now! Enter your zip code below to get started.

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    Thank Governor Perdue for her VETO of the Voter Photo ID bill!

    Governor Perdue has vetoed the bill that would have required voters to show a government-issued photo ID every time they vote, saying:

    "North Carolinians who are eligible to vote have a constitutionally guaranteed right to cast their ballots, and no one should put up obstacles to citizens exercising that right. We must always be vigilant in protecting the integrity of our elections. But requiring every voter to present a government-issued photo ID is not the way to do it."

    We are asking our supporters to contact the Governor and thank her for having the courage to veto this bill. It's easy to do, just:

    * Fill out the email message fields below.  We'll provide sample language you can edit and then send your email to her on your behalf; or

    * Call her at 1-800-662-7952 and tell her THANK YOU!

    Feel free to spread the word to your friends so that the Governor knows she has support when she acts to protect voting rights in NC! Copy and paste this URL and mail it to your contacts, or post it to your Facebook page: http://bit.ly/jS3eKn. You can also visit our Tell-A-Friend Page to send an action request to up to 20 of your email contacts at one time.

  • Cut the Strings!

    Fight Corporate Control of Politics!


    Art Pope is North Carolina’s top political cash cow. His family and the groups his corporation supports spend millions to elect ultra-conservative politicians who, like puppets, push Pope's anti-government agenda. Profits from his corporation, Variety Wholesalers (which owns Roses, Maxway and other discount stores) help elect people who want to cut taxes for the wealthy, cut services for the rest of us, privatize public education and gut environmental, workplace, and consumer protections.

    Elections across the nation are being distorted by corporate cash given with strings attached. The US Supreme Court's 2010 Citizen United decision said that corporations have a Free Speech right to spend unlimited money interfering in political campaigns. That's absurd and Art Pope’s Roses/Maxway business is the worst example here in North Carolina.

    Cut the strings! Sign our petition to tell Pope and elected officials to stop the flood of corporate money in politics.