A voting sign at Chavis Community Center in Raleigh on Oct. 20, 2026. (Photo: Christine Zhu/NC Newsline)
By Lynn Bonner
U.S. Department of Justice election monitors will be in Wake, Alamance, and Mecklenburg counties on Election Day, according to the state Board of Elections.
The Justice Department announced it would send monitors to every state as part of the largest monitoring effort in history, but did not disclose locations.
The DOJ has sent election monitors to North Carolina in previous elections. This fall’s expansive nationwide effort has Democrats, some Republicans, and voting rights advocates wary because it comes as President Donald Trump attempts to influence elections, States Newsroom has reported.
As power-hungry data centers proliferate, states are searching for ways to protect utility customers from the steep costs of upgrading the electrical grid, trying instead to shift the cost to AI-driven tech companies. (Photo: Dana DiFilippo/New Jersey Monitor)
By Laura Leslie
Stein said a new report produced by the state’s Energy Policy Task Force found that by 2050, the additional power that data centers will need is projected to cost North Carolina about $50 billion.
“If nothing changes, then we’re all going to end up having to pay for that in our electricity bills. It is absolutely unacceptable,” Stein said.
A growing number of state officials fear prediction markets are opening the door to a new era of gambling on elections — a practice many states have long prohibited. (Photo by Anne-Marie Caruso/New Jersey Monitor)
By Trevon Spencer
With Election Day less than a week away, prediction markets are signaling strong chances for some North Carolina congressional candidates, even as some traditional polling remains uncertain.
In North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, polls have consistently shown Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Davis and Republican challenger Laurie Buckhout within the margin of error.
The Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up. But prediction markets give Davis a roughly 80% chance of winning reelection, making him a four-to-one favorite.
Paul Barringer, the Democratic nominee running for North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District, poses with his dogs, Billy and Penny, at an early voting site in Clayton on Oct. 27, 2026. (Photo: Christine Zhu/NC Newsline)
By Christine Zhu
Johnston County resident Jennifer Gibbs cast her first ballot in the 1990s. She said she’s lost track of the number of times she voted Republican, but she’s switched to voting for Democratic candidates lately.
Gibbs, a retired business owner, said she isn’t happy with President Donald Trump or the current Republican Party.
Some of her complaints are with the cost of living — Gibbs and her husband Charles are helping out their adult children and grandkids with gas and groceries. Others are with corruption in the government, immigration, and reproductive rights.
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MORE NEWSLINE
Eastern NC congressional race is most expensive in US history | Christine Zhu
NC State Health Plan reaches deal with Atrium Health, but using WakeMed will still cost more | Lynn Bonner
Housing expert: Affordability crisis, declining immigration are slowing demand for housing | Greg Childress
Worrisome domestic violence statistics aren’t declining in NC | Greg Childress
Commentary
Handing out ballots and counting them up | Phoebe Zerwick
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