North Carolina has a history of split-ticket voting. In 2016, the state voted in a Republican president — but put a Democrat in the governor’s seat. The same thing happened in 2004, with George W. Bush for president and Mike Easley for governor.
But that trend may change this year, according to recent reporting by Cass Herrington, reporter and “Morning Edition” host for Blue Ridge Public Radio. She talked to one split-ticket voter who is angered by President Donald Trump’s coronavirus pandemic response and is now voting Democrat down the ballot. Other voters may be aligning more with one party or the other as ideologies have become more polarized. Host Anita Rao talks with Herrington about her reporting onsplit-ticket voters, as well as her feature on efforts to increase voter turnout among immigrant groups in North Carolina. Language, transportation and emotional barriers prevent voters from casting their ballots. Herrington shares how organizations across the state are reaching out to challenge those barriers.