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Early Voting Period Ends
The early-voting period ended over the weekend in North Carolina.
More than 2 million North Carolinians took advantage of early voting this year. That's an increase of 74 percent over the same period during the last midterm election in 2014, and that year featured a marquee Senate race.
So far, Democrats are outpacing Republicans at the polls - but with a third of the state's electorate registered as unaffiliated, it's too early to draw conclusions. Also, women voters are outpacing men through the early voting tally.
Polls open at 6:30 Tuesday morning statewide and will remain open until 7:30 in the evening.
North Carolina Sees Rise In Unaffiliated Voters
North Carolina is seeing a rise in unaffiliated voters.
Analysts at the UNC School of Media and Journalism have been digging into years of data on voter registration.
What they've found is that over the past three years, North Carolina's voter rolls have swelled by 680,000 people.
These aren't all newly registered voters, they could be someone who moved from out of state, a voter who had to re-register, or wanted to change their affiliation. This is called voter movement.
And nearly 70 percent of that movement was toward the unaffiliated column.
Researcher Chris Gentilviso says this is what's called a purple wave.
Gentilviso says this rise in unaffiliated voters is a trend in all 100 North Carolina counties.
Judges: 4 North Carolina House Districts Break Redistricting Ban
More redrawing of North Carolina legislative boundaries would be required next year if a ruling by judges striking down four state House districts stands.
A three-judge panel Friday agreed with advocacy groups and voters that several alterations to Wake County districts last year violated North Carolina's constitutional prohibition against mid-decade redistricting.
The four districts are being used in Tuesday's election, but the ruling won't stop those races and could be appealed.
The trial court judges told Republican mapmakers to fix the problems and approve a new Wake County House map by July 1 for use in 2020 elections.
Former North Carolina Gov. Perdue Leading Testing Board
North Carolina's first female governor is taking another trailblazing role as head of a board that oversees standardized tests designed to measure student achievement across the country.
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced Friday that former Gov. Beverly Perdue is now chair of the National Assessment Governing Board. Perdue is identified as the first woman to chair the board in its 30-year history.
The nonpartisan board sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Perdue is a former school teacher, Democratic legislator and lieutenant governor who was elected governor in 2008. Since leaving office, Perdue founded an education technology nonprofit.
Police: Woman In Viral Rant Against 2 Others Faces Charges
Authorities say a white woman in North Carolina whose racist rant against two black women having car trouble in an affluent area is facing charges she communicated threats and misused the 911 network.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say that 51-year-old Susan Westwood was served with outstanding warrants Saturday after contacting police in coastal Sunset Beach. Westwood disappeared after the Oct. 19 incident in a parking lot of her Charlotte apartment complex.
Video went viral of her berating black neighbors she didn't recognize while they waited for AAA. Leisa and Mary Garris called police twice to report Westwood was harassing them.
Westwood also called 911, telling the dispatcher she would pay $2,500 "to get them out of here," according to authorities.
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