Here are some of the stories we're following today:
Expert: No Evidence New NC Voter Law Affected 2014 Turnout
A professor at the University of Georgia says he has found no evidence that the new election law in North Carolina had an impact on turnout in the 2014 election.
The Winston-Salem Journal reports political science professor Trey Hood testified Monday that he could find no evidence that North Carolina's shortened early voting period discouraged a significant number of people to vote.
Hood also said black voters cast ballots during the shortened period of early voting at higher rates than whites in 2014.
Boone May Get Second Voting Precinct
The Boone City Council has approved an additional early-voting precinct at the Plemmons Student Union on the campus of Appalachian State University.
The student union precinct was controversial during last year's election. The Republican-led county board of elections said the site wasn't needed because there were others close by.
But others argued the students needed a place to vote. The dispute went through three courts before it was approved by the state Supreme Court just days before the election's early voting started.
The city council's request for a second precinct in the student union must be approved by the county board of elections. The request is expected to be on the board's August 11 agenda
NAACP Criticizes NC GOP Leaders For Monuments Bill
The president of the state chapter of the NAACP is criticizing Republican leaders in North Carolina following passage of a historical monuments bill which opponents say protects Confederate memorials.
At a Moral Monday protest in front of the old Capitol building, state NAACP President the Rev. William Barber criticized Gov. Pat McCrory and Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger for not taking actions similar to other Republican leaders in the South who have advocated for the removal of Confederate relics.
Barber and about a hundred protesters also called on McCrory to halt the sale of license plates depicting the symbol of the Confederate flag.
GOP Official Juxtaposes Images Of KKK, Hillary Clinton
The chairman of the North Carolina Republican party has posted Twitter photos juxtaposing images of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and the Ku Klux Klan.
Hasan Harnett posted the images on the social media site Thursday. One shows Klansmen surrounding a burning cross; the caption says the KKK was created as the militant wing of the Democratic Party. The second photo shows Clinton winking.
WRAL-TV in Raleigh says Harnett declined to comment Monday.
North Carolina Democratic Party spokesman Ford Porter says the comments encapsulate the GOP's inflammatory rhetoric.
NC Mountains Experiencing Drought For 1st Time Since 2012
State officials say the North Carolina mountains are experiencing drought for the first time in more than two years.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reports the latest update from the N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council lists Henderson, McDowell, Polk and Rutherford counties as being in moderate drought.
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