JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS AMENDMENT LEAST LIKELY TO PASS: Voters have the chance to decide whether the governor should have sole discretion filling judicial vacancies, or if the legislature should have a role in the process. While supporters of a proposed constitutional amendment to give the legislature a role say it would help cut down partisanship on the court and increase diversity on the bench, opponents argue the amendment is another example of legislative overreach. It’s one of the two amendments that are opposed by all five living former governors and six retired chief justices of the state Supreme Court. A recent poll from Spectrum News/SurveyUSA found that 36 percent of those polled were against the judicial appointments amendment, and 35 percent were for it. More than a quarter of those polled — 29 percent — were undecided. It was the least popular of the six constitutional amendments in the poll.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article219843730.html

NC'S VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS FRIDAY BY 5:00: Residents of most North Carolina counties who want to register in person or by mail have until the close of business on Friday to submit their applications. As long as a mail-in registration is postmarked by that date, the county elections office will process it for November’s election. If it’s later than that, it won’t be processed in time. Voters who want to use same-day registration can do so at any one-stop early voting site within their county of residence from Oct. 17 through Nov. 3. To use same-day registration, you’ll need to fill out a voter registration form, which includes a legal attestation that you’re eligible to vote, and you’ll need to show proof of residency showing your name and address, which can be a government- or college-issued ID or a utility or bank statement.
https://www.wral.com/voting-this-november-deadlines-are-just-days-away/17903907/

NC REPUBLICAN WOMEN LASH OUT AT DEMOCRATS OVER KAVANAUGH HEARINGS: A group of Republican women led by NC GOP vice chairwoman Michele Nix on Sunday accused Democrats of using smear campaigns and resorting to mob rule during last week’s confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Nix spoke at a press conference at the state GOP headquarters during a break in a party meeting. “The Democrat Party has become the party against freedom and liberty, the party of emotion over reason and the party of violence over civil debate,” Nix said. “In short, modern Democrats prefer mob rule over the rule of law. Over the past week, they have shown they will stop at nothing to get their way. Democrats destroyed a good man’s name, a good man’s family, all based on allegations that were refuted by the witnesses and disproved by seven FBI reports.”
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article219636640.html

HISPANIC GIRL ENDURES RACIST COMMENTS AT NC HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL MATCH: A North Carolina high school volleyball team is seeking an apology from a recent opponent after players said they were targeted with racist and sexist comments. News outlets report the Mallard Creek High School varsity girls' volleyball team said students from Lake Norman High School chanted "U-S-A, U-S-A" when a Hispanic player from Mallard Creek was on the floor during a match on Sept. 25. Parents said the students also made offensive sexual comments. Iredell-Statesville Schools Superintendent Brady Johnson wrote to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Clayton Wilcox apologizing for the incident and said the students involved would be disciplined. Parents of the Mallard Creek players said they want an apology offered to their children. Commissioner Que Tucker of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association said her organization is now involved.
https://www.wral.com/volleyball-team-wants-apology-from-school-for-racial-slurs/17895762/

REPUBLICAN LANNY LANCASTER POSTS FAKE PICTURE OF CHRISTINE FORD: A Facebook post about Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of assault in the early 1980s, has triggered a war of words between a local Republican leader and a Democratic candidate for Congress. Lanny Lancaster, Cabarrus County GOP chairman, shared a photo allegedly of Ford that was originally posted by an account using the name Joseph Mannarino. Lancaster shared the photo, which shows a young woman wearing braces and large glasses, adding the comments: “This is the alleged sexual assault victim. Wow.” On Tuesday, Democratic congressional candidate Frank McNeill included the post in an email newsletter as an example of a Republican “assault on the safety and dignity of American women.” McNeill is running against Republican U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson in the 8th district, which runs from Fayetteville in southeastern North Carolina to the north Charlotte area.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article219385945.html