This is going to be a very short diary, as I only thought about writing one as I was about to leave the house to vote this morning. But it is an important one, given where our country is today.
Today is election day in many municipalities in NC. These are mostly local election of municipalities that conduct non-partisan elections with a possible runoff . But the term "Non-Partisan" can be very misleading. Many of the candidates have one political preference over another. Many of the people we are electing have one view or another about the critical issues the country faces: Affordable Healthcare, Government Shutdown, Education, etc. And many of these candidates have been endorsed by various parties. Find the ones that are close to your convictions and make sure you take the time to vote for them.
Non long ago(2010, 2011), the Wake County School Board made national news, because a majority of Republicans were elected and they decided to re-segregate our schools. This was allowed to happen because of two main things:
1. The voters didn't show up at the polls.
2. The Koch Brothers/Art Pope got involved.
The results were ugly and the Republicans used this as a launching pad, that has now taken them to NC Governorship, the NC Assembly, the NC Supreme Court ... etc. Yes, Republicans control everything in the state of NC. The only place where Democrats and Independents can still have a say it at Municipal levels: Mayors, School Boards, ..etc
If you live in NC and you haven't yet voted and weren't thinking about voting or know people who live in NC. Vote and/or let others know about today's elections. We may not decide a winner today, but we can get ride of those who will do us harm.
Yes, there are also elections in November, but if you can vote today, do so.
I wish I could post more links to give people more context. But here are a few starting points and I'm sure some other North Carolinians can help.
North Carolina Board of Elections
Wake County Democrats
Some headlines from a few years ago