EDITORS/PUBLISHERS: the criminal case numbers given to me DO NOT match the Cecil Brockman case at all, so I'M CANCELING THAT STORY UNTIL I GET STRAIGHT ANSWERS. I woke with a spokesman for the Guilford DA's Office, and he looked the case number up per the four charges Brockman faces, but when I entered them in the court system search, one was a blank, the other three for other people, so I'M IMMEDIATELY PULLING THE STORY UNTIL I FIGURE OUT WHAT'S WHAT. DON'T RUN THE BROCKMAN STORY I SENT YOU!!!
REPUBLICANS FILE BILLS
TO REDUCE EARLY
VOTING FROM 17 DAYS
THIS ELECTION
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
Knowing that by all projections, November’s midterm general election is expected to be a windfall for Democrats nationally and here in North Carolina, Republicans have filed two bills in the NC General Assembly that, if ratified by both chambers, would slice the number of early voting days from the current 17, to just 13-10 days before the November 3rd Election Day.
One bill (HB66) would cut early voting from 17 to 13 days, and cut out on at least one Sunday, which is historically popular for African-Americans who normally vote “Souls to the Polls” after attending church in their communities across the state in many counties.
“Not earlier than the second Monday before an election in which a voter seeks to vote and not later than 3:00 P.M. on the last Saturday before that election (which would be Monday, October 26 to Saturday, October 31st), the voter may appear in person only at the office of the county board of elections….,” is the language of the proposed state House legislation. “A county board of elections shall conduct early voting on the last Saturday before the election from 8:00 A.M. until 3:00 P.M."
Sponsored by 22-year-old Republican State House Rep. Wyatt Gable (R-Onslow), an East Carolina University student and the youngest state representative in history, HB 66, filed in February 2025 but in the Rules Committee ever since, would become law immediately upon passage, meaning that it would immediately drastically cut the in-person early voting period for the upcoming November general elections.
Under current state law, this year's early voting period begins on the third Thursday of October (Oct. 15), and doesn’t end until the last Saturday (Oct. 31st) before the first Tuesday of November, which is normally when the general election takes place.
That was also the early voting timeline in 2024 when, according to the North Carolina Board of Elections, out of the 5.7 million North Carolinians who voted then, 4,223,734 voted early statewide, with 62,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats casting early ballots.
As of May 16th, there were 7,768, 375 registered voters in North Carolina, according to the NC State Board of Elections.
The second measure seeking to cut early voting days is Senate Bill 1084, sponsored by Sen. Warren Daniel (R-Morganton), chair of the Senate Elections Committee.
The language of Sen. Daniel’s legislature states, “Not earlier than the second Thursday (October 22) before an election in which a voter seeks to vote and not later than 3:00 P.M. on the last Saturday (October 31) before that election, the voter may appear in person only at the office of the county board. A county board shall conduct early voting on the last Saturday before the election from 8:00 A.M. until 3:00 P.M."
Daniel’s bill would allow one Sunday of early voting before the general election.
As per Rep. Gable’s HB 66, Sen. Daniel’s SB 1084, “…is effective when it becomes law and applies to elections held on or after that date.”
Republican legislative leadership is fully in support of the measures seeking to reduce early voting.
Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Phil Berger said, “I hear a lot of complaints from both Republicans and Democrats about the number, particularly those that have to work the elections. Hopefully we can get some consensus around that for the primaries. I think we need to reduce the number of days in the general as well, but obviously it’s likely to face even more opposition.”
Republican House Speaker Destin Hall also expressed his support.
Not so with Sen. Natalie Murdock (D-Durham), who told reporters last week that the bills target African-Americans.
“It is clear that if they don’t think folks are going to vote for them, they want to make it more difficult for them to vote,” she said.
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REPORT SAYS NCCU
IS NOT “FINANCIALLY
HEALTHY,” BUT IMPROVING
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
According to its own, most recent financial assessment report, North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in Durham is the only UNC System school in the state that is not considered “financially healthy.” That determination was made by the Composite Financial Index (CFI), which is used by the 16-campus system to measure a school’s institutional financial viability.
How a UNC System school measures its finial health is based on the following questions:
- how much does the institution have in reserve?
- can the institution cover its financial obligations?
- Is the institution’s financial strength improving?
- is the institution operating within its means?
While other UNC System schools were able to answer each of those basic questions positively, NCCU, an historically Black university, was not.
Published reports note that for 2024 and 2025, NCCU’s CFI was below the minimum threshold for financial viability, which proved to be problematic because NCCU was also enjoying historic levels of student enrollment. For instance, in 2025, NCCU reported more than 9,100 students enrolled, its highest student population ever. But even that accomplishment could not help the HBCU in gaining financial parity with other UNC System campuses.
Improving the financial health of NCCU is now one of the top priorities of Chancellor Karrie Dixon, who took over leadership of the institution in 2024 after what many consider to be a stellar tenure at Elizabeth City State University, another UNC System HBCU that had been in dire straits prior to her management.
In a statement to The News and Observer, Dr. Dixon pledged to institute the same corrective measures she oversaw at ECSU to bring it back from the brink.
“My first priority upon arriving at NCCU in 2024 was to strengthen the university’s financial position,” Dr Dixon told the N&O. “We made difficult but necessary decisions to reduce costs and improve financial management. At the same time, we recognized enrollment growth as a key driver of financial health. Together, those efforts have helped improve our CFI score from 2024 to 2025.”
Despite a low CFI, NCCU is definitely showing signs of improvement. In fact, an analysis shows that much has improved since the last official CFI assessment months ago. According to a statement from the school, “Recent actions, including spending controls, cautious hiring, operational realignment and expanded academic initiatives through Project Kitty Hawk, support a broader strategy for long-term sustainability.”
Plus now that the NC General Assembly has finally announced agreement on a state budget framework after not passing a budget in 2024, NCCU is requesting $159 million for both 2024 and 2025 to help the school reach its goals.
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