The Most Important Votes of Your Life

By Moe White –

The three most important votes you can cast this fall in North Carolina are those for:

• Cheri Beasley for US Senate—former Chief Justice, NC Supreme Court
• Associate Justice Sam Ervin IV for NC State Supreme Court—incumbent seeking reelection
• Lucy D. Inman for NC State Supreme Court—NC Court of Appeals judge seeking a Supreme Court seat

Senate Control is Paramount

Remember their names. These may be the most important votes you ever cast. Gaining a few seats in the US Senate, including Cheri Beasley to replace retiring Republican Richard Burr, will make all the difference to the direction of the country and the laws that can be passed in the coming two years.

• Do you want the John Lewis Voting Rights Act passed?
• Should mega-billion-dollar corporations pay at least a minimum income tax?
• Do you want women to have the right to control their own reproductive decisions with medical advice from doctors?
• Do you want more money for schools, medical care, clean air, pure water, and community safety?
• Do you want American democracy to survive?

If so, Vote For Beasley; no other Senate candidate will help deliver those important goals.

NC Supreme Court

As for the NC State Supreme Court, the rights of North Carolina citizens sit on a razor’s edge. A single vote—one more Republican on the court—could destroy any chance we have of ensuring:

• equal representation (ending illegal gerrymandering);
• tax fairness for all North Carolinians;
• our right to register, to vote, and to Have Our Votes Count.

Republicans oppose all these goals, and if they control the NC Supreme Court along with the legislature, nothing will stop them. And that means your vote this fall—before they succeed in taking it away from you—is the only thing standing between you and a new Jim Crow era in North Carolina.

Other Races

Other races matter, too, and it’s important to vote for these officials and candidates:

• Quentin Miller for Buncombe County Sheriff
• Todd Williams for Buncombe County District Attorney
• Buncombe County Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara to US Congress

And, of course, we hope you’ll support the best candidates for County Commission, Asheville Mayor, your town’s Council, and local Superior Court judges.

But no matter what, do not waste this opportunity to make good use of your right to vote.

Voting Details & Deadlines

Make sure you vote, and that your vote is recorded and counted!

• Make sure you’re registered at the county elections office. Registration deadline is 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Details at www.ncsbe.gov/registering/how-register.
• Visit the state elections office for details at www.ncsbe.gov/news/events/voter-registration-deadline-2022-statewide-general-election.
• Make sure your name, address, and other essential information is correct and up to date. Go to www.ncsbe.gov/registering/updating-registration.

If you plan to vote absentee, do this:

5 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022, is the deadline for civilians to submit an absentee ballot request form for the 2022 statewide general election on the following Tuesday.

5 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, is the civilian absentee ballot return deadline and Election Day for the 2022 statewide general election.