BEASLEY CAMPAIGN DEMANDS A SECOND, MORE ACCURATE RECOUNT: Justice Paul Newby led North Carolina’s Supreme Court chief justice race after a statewide recount finished late Wednesday night, but the election isn’t over. Incumbent Chief Justice Cheri Beasley’s campaign staff said in a news release they are demanding a hand-to eye recount, which differs from the recent recount tabulated by voting machines. The request came around 11 p.m. Wednesday. Following the first recount, Newby, a Republican, is ahead of Beasley, a Democrat, by 401 votes out of the nearly 5.4 million ballots cast. The recount dropped Newby’s lead by only five votes. Beasley’s request for the hand-to-eye recount has not yet been confirmed by the state board of elections, but she had only 24 hours after the recount ended to make the request. That countdown began at 9:41 p.m. Wednesday.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article247502830.html

ACTIVISTS WANT TO RAISE THE AGE OF MARRIAGE IN NC: In North Carolina, 14- and 15-year-olds can get married with parental consent due to a “pregnancy exception,” in which one person is pregnant or has become a parent. That’s the lowest age of consent in the United States, alongside Alaska. Registers of Deeds throughout the state have found that North Carolina has become a safe haven for predators to marry minors, in marriages similar to what Pollard says hers was. N.C. State Rep. Graig Meyer, representing Orange and Caswell counties, said his colleagues plan to introduce a bill at the beginning of the General Assembly session in January to raise the minimum age to marry. It will need a bipartisan coalition, which he does not think will be difficult.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article247369329.html

ELECTIONS BOARD MEMBERS' JOB IS TO ADVOCATE AND PROTECT VOTERS, NOT PARTISANSHIP: It’s happened again. A former state legislator gets placed on an important state board. That ex-legislator cares only about the wishes of the legislative leaders and their partisan agenda and NOT working on behalf of ALL the people of North Carolina. All too often in recent years, the narrow demands of legislative leaders are in stark contrast to the best interests and needs of North Carolinians. While Tucker claimed “Democrats filed 416 lawsuits nationally which created chaos, overwhelmed the post office,” he did not mention lawsuits and challenges filed by Republicans. He didn’t bring up the operational changes ordered by Postmaster Lewis DeJoy that jeopardized the timely delivery of ballots to voters or the return of those cast ballots to board of elections. Nor did he say that it was President Donald Trump, during an appearance in Wilmington, who famously urged North Carolina voters to cast ballots twice – a violation of state and federal law.
https://www.wral.com/editorial-elections-board-members-job-is-to-advocate-and-protect-voters-not-par...

GREENVILLE RACIST WHO THREATENED BLACK FAMILY GETS TWO YEARS IN PRISON: A North Carolina man who pleaded guilty three months ago to charges that he threatened to shoot an African American family for renting a home has been sentenced to more than two years in prison. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the prison sentenced handed down to Douglas Matthew Gurkins, 34, on Monday, is followed by three years of supervised release. No hometown was given for Gurkins, and officials didn't say where the incidents occurred. Court documents said Gurkins drove to the family’s home, yelled racial slurs at them and told them they didn’t belong in the home. According to the documents, Gurkins threatened to shoot the mother and four children and any other Black people who entered the property. He then threatened the family with a metal rod, prosecutors said. The family moved out a few days later.
https://www.wral.com/prison-sentence-for-man-who-threatened-black-renters/19402857/

NC BOARD OF ELECTIONS CERTIFIES RESULTS, NO COVID CASES LINKED TO VOTING: The North Carolina Board of Elections has certified nearly all of the state’s votes, confirming Electoral College votes for incumbent President Donald Trump, who lost the national general election to Joe Biden. The board also certified the reelection of N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, and U.S. Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican, along with almost all races and ballot measures across the state. Elections officials also report no COVID-19 cases linked to voting. There were 3.6 million votes cast during early voting, the most ever for North Carolina, she said. Bell said there was “75.4% voter turnout in a pandemic, which is remarkable.”
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article247393795.html