Backtalk

Raleigh Durham Chapel Hill

VOL. 39 NO. 44

Rock Europa performs at Local 506 on Sunday, November 6. See calendar, page 24.)

PHOTO COURTESY OF LOCAL 506

CONTENTS

NEWS

6 North Carolina's two supreme court races could shape outcomes for abortion access, public education funding, and the future of free and fair

elections. BY JASMINE GALLUP

8 A Q&A with Duke professor Asher Hildebrand on the significance of this month's election. BY JASMINE GALLUP 10 North Carolina's appellate court races may fly under the radar, but the court can be the last stop for some significant cases. BY LENA GELLER 12 A look at Durham's bond referenda. BY THOMASI MCDONALD 14 Four seats in Wake County could determine whether Republicans retake

supermajority. BY JASMINE GALLUP

ARTS & CULTURE

16 Chatham County Line goes to Hollywood. BY SPENCER GRIFFITH 18 How local producer collective The Genius Party is building a community.

BY KYESHA JENNINGS

20 Music Reviews: Leaf by Dreamroot and Good Job by Treee City.

BY DAN RUCCIA & BRIAN HOWE

22 A preview of Bulldog Ensemble Theater's The Garbologists and Theatre Raleigh's

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 . BY BYRON WOODS 23 Talking with Jess Williamson of country music duo Plains. BY SARAH EDWARDS

THE REGULARS

3 Backtalk

4 Quickbait 5 Op-ed 24 Culture Calendar

COVER Design by Nicole Pajor Moore

BACKTALK A couple of weeks ago, we ran an op-ed from Durham resident Frank Hyman about why voters should maybe skip casting a ballot for third-party candidates this election cycle. Reader JANIE EKERE, a volunteer with Green Party candidate Matt Hoh’s U.S. Senate campaign, took issue with Hyman’s points and wrote

us the following email:

[The op-ed] explicitly discouraged potential voters from supporting the Green Party, with no regard as to whether our platform aligned with voters' values. We believe that this is not only unfair to our campaign, but that it ultimately does a disservice to voters.

As members of the Green Party, we believe that this op-ed unfairly and uncritically casts us as responsible for helping Republicans take office. It makes no mention of the role of the Electoral College in either the 2000 or 2016 presidential election, placing the blame for Bush and Trump's victories solely on the mere presence of Green candidates. It also neglects to mention that Greens have long run campaigns at the local level in various states, but we are required to run for races like governor, U.S. Senate, and president in order to maintain ballot access and to have enough resources to reach voters effectively.

The op-ed also characterizes our supporters as simply “making a statement,” or “just helping Republicans.” This suggests that their support for us is thoughtless or pointless. As a party that encourages all voters to vote according to their beliefs and their values, this kind of attitude comes across as disrespectful and counterproductive to the practice of democracy. It's a myth that all Green voters are bound to vote for Democrats if there's no Green option on the ballot. In 2016, a CBS report on exit polls showed that 61% of Jill Stein voters said they would have abstained from voting for President if they didn't have the choice to vote for her. We still have a large portion of the population that doesn't vote, not because they're apathetic, but because they feel alienated from the political process and don't believe there are candidates to vote for who truly represent their interests.

Having Green Party candidates on the ballot provides the public with the opportunity to vote for candidates who reflect their values. That choice is vital to a healthy and vibrant democracy.