It’s My Favorite Time of Year

Legislative News by Nelda Holder –

I’ve always loved autumn.

Cooling down from the Carolina heat of summer. Walking through the fallen leaves into the Carolina season of politics! And—as a child—listening to the elders debate the candidates around the old oil stove in my grandmother’s country store.

It seems like those debates were a far cry more genteel than today’s political discourse. I certainly can’t say that’s an improvement. So let’s lighten up for a minute and take a look at where we’ve come from historically.

Just to remind you—because I’ve written about this before—this is the season when one of the store regulars walked out after my grandmother (mother of two veterans) announced she would jettison that Democratic stronghold she was sitting amongst in order to vote for Ike! (Dwight D. Eisenhower, nicknamed Ike, who had been Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe and achieved the five-star rank as General of the Army, then served as president thanks to my grandmother’s vote—and a lot of others—from 1953 to 1961.)

Grandmother’s announcement caused our farm neighbor, Mr. Sam Mitchiner, to get out of his usual seat and walk out of the store. So I learned to pay attention to politics.

It’s a Party, Folks!

As a result of this early political passion which continued to grow, I love to go prowling around the history of our Old North State. For example, do you know why we’re called the “Old North State?” Some of you may guess that pretty quickly. It stems from the separation of the Carolina colony into South Carolina and North Carolina—the northern section being the earlier-settled. And what year was that? 1712!

Recently I was browsing around in search of the history of political parties in the state, and NCPEDIA (the online version of William S. Powell’s Encyclopedia of North Carolina) proved a good resource. It seems that in 1787 here in my home state, when the Anti-Federalists (strong state rights advocates) overcame the Federalists (advocating a strong national government), we held up the ratification of U.S. Constitution. As a result, we were the 12th of the 13 colonies to sign that historic document.

I refer you to Michael Thomas Smith’s entry at www.ncpedia.org to read more details, but just for fun, here are some of the additional parties that have walked across our Tar Heel state:

• The Federalists (were replaced in dominance by Jeffersonian Republicans (later to become the Democrats), who ascended after the War of 1812
• The Whig Party, formed in the mid-1830s, edged out the controlling Democrats and held power until the 1850s
• The American and Constitutional Union Parties—offshoots of the Whigs
• The Democrats

The 1860s and talk of secession brought a new Conservative Party, which took control of state government in 1862 and kept it during the Civil War era. Reconstruction saw the pro-Confederate Conservatives cooperating with Democrats—and opposed by northern-backed Republicans (which, in Smith’s account, included “recently enfranchised African Americans as well as northern carpetbaggers and native white scalawags, mostly former unionists).

“Fusion” politics had a few years of prominence between 1894 and 1900 (a combination of Republican and People’s—or Populist—Parties). But its flare was a brief interruption during almost a century of basically Democratic control growing out of the Conservative/Democratic Party—a white supremacist force which morphed into the Democratic Party. The first Republican governor of the 20th century, James E. Holshouser, was elected in the 1970s, and the Republican and Democratic Parties have dominated since.

Other minor parties have dotted the landscape: the States’ Rights Party (Dixiecrats, 1948), American-Independents (George Wallace’s party; 1960s). And beginning in the 2000s, a number of minor parties such as the Communist, Green, Libertarian, Natural Law, Southern, and Reform Parties have fielded candidates.

Most recently, the state recognized the No Labels Party as an official political party in 2023. And this year, 2024, the state ballots include the traditional Democrat and Republican party candidates plus the Green, Constitution, Libertarian, and Justice for All parties.

Interestingly, according to recent reports, the largest “party” currently is a non-party: the unaffiliated voters. This bloc comprises nearly 38 percent of the electorate now, with Democrats in second place with around 31.5 percent (down some 213,000 since the 2020 election), and Republicans in third place with 29.9 percent (an increase of around 52,000).

Go figure.

The 2024 Ballot and YOU

So here we are. Election Day—November 5—is rapidly approaching. For Buncombe County voters with access to the internet post-Helene, all the information you need is available at the Buncombe County Board of Elections website or by calling (828) 250-4200.

Note that Early Voting will take place October 17 through November 2, but with a new plan of delivery. Hours will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (including weekends) except for Saturday, November 2, when polls will close at 3 p.m.

Here are the approved locations:

• Black Mountain Library, 105 N. Dougherty St., Black Mountain
• East Asheville Library, 3 Avon Road, Asheville
• Enka-Candler Library, 1404 Sand Hill Road, Candler
• Fairview Library, 1 Taylor Road, Fairview
• Leicester Community Center, 2979 New Leicester Hwy., Leicester
• South Buncombe Library, 260 Overlook Road, Asheville
• UNCA Health & Counseling Center, 118 W.T. Weaver Blvd., Asheville (new location)
• Weaverville Community Center, 60 Lakeshore Drive, Weaverville
• Wesley Grant Southside Center, 285 Livingston St., Asheville (this replaces the Board of Elections location)
• West Asheville Library, 942 Haywood Road, Asheville

You must be registered to vote in order to vote. Registration period ended on October 11, but you may do same-day registration during early voting. If you need additional information, go to buncombecounty.org/vote or [email protected], or call (828) 250-4200.

Statewide information and assistance are also available at the North Carolina Board of Elections. In-person early voting begins October 17; the absentee ballot request deadline is October 29.

It is important to remember that North Carolina voters will be asked to show a photo ID in this election to vote by person or by mail. You may show your driver’s license as your photo ID, or contact the elections office for alternatives. (Registered voters who do not have a photo ID can get one for free from their county board of elections or an NCDVM office.)

Voters without ID can still vote by filling out a form explaining why they can’t show ID, or by casting a provisional ballot and showing their ID at their county board of elections office by 5 p.m. on November 14.

Nelda Holder is the author of The Thirteenth Juror – Ferguson: A Personal Look at the Grand Jury Transcripts.