WRAL: “When it comes to electing the president, North Carolina needs to go back to the future. In 2007 the state Senate passed a bill directing that the state’s electoral college votes for president be cast for the candidate who received the most votes nationwide. Essentially, it rids the nation of the antiquated electoral college without the…

Chicken Fried Politics: “Republican Julia Letlow has won a special election for Louisiana’s 5th District U.S. House seat less than three months after her husband, Luke, died of COVID-19 complications before he could be sworn into the post. In another special election Saturday in the 2nd District, Democratic state senators Troy Carter and Karen Carter-Peterson advanced to an April 24 runoff in a contest to…

AL Political Reporter: “The Supreme Court of Alabama on Friday upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit alleging that Governor Kay Ivey’s statewide mask mandate was illegally adopted. Montgomery Circuit Judge Greg Griffin in August dismissed the lawsuit, filed by Debbie Mathis, a real estate agent, and retired sheriff’s deputies Larry Lewis and Barry Munza,…

AP: “On an invitation-only call last week, Sen. Ted Cruz huddled with Republican state lawmakers to call them to battle on the issue of voting rights. Democrats are trying to expand voting rights to “illegal aliens” and “child molesters,” he claimed, and Republicans must do all they can to stop them. If they push through…

NewsChannel5: “Not even two weeks after the historical commission voted to remove the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest from the state capitol, state senators are trying to vote to remove all members from the commission. Senator Joey Hensley, a Hohenwald Republican, sponsored the bill. It would replace all of the members of the 29 person…

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Leading Georgia lawmakers said Thursday that they plan to maintain Sunday voting and no-excuse absentee voting but pursue strict controls on other areas of voter access and ballot counting. Voting rights advocates continued to oppose the legislation during a three-hour hearing, saying it would still create obstacles by limiting drop boxes, setting earlier absentee ballot…

The Hill: “President Biden on Friday met with Stacey Abrams and Georgia lawmakers while in Atlanta to discuss voting rights in the face of legislation introduced by state GOP lawmakers in various states that would restrict access to the ballot. Biden and Vice President Harris met with Abrams, Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance…

AP: “Efforts to remove Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards from office because of complaints about his coronavirus restrictions and mask mandate have failed. The Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office said Friday that all parishes but one have completed counting signatures on a petition seeking to recall the Democratic governor, and the numbers have fallen far…

WaPo: “When incumbent Democrat José Javier Rodríguez lost his Florida state senate seat to Republican challenger Ileana Garcia by just 32 votes in November, the losing party and investigators began asking questions about a suspicious third candidate. A man named Alexis “Alex” Rodriguez — who shared the incumbent’s last name — appeared on the ballotbut never campaigned,…

The News & Observer: “The race for North Carolina’s open 2022 U.S. Senate seat is about to get more crowded. Former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley is expected to officially announce her candidacy in the next few weeks, according to a friend authorized to speak on her behalf. “She’s putting a team together,…