Court upholds runoff in Cherokee
A lawsuit seeking to overturn a Board of Elections decision to hold an Oct. 10 runoff election for Birdtown Tribal Council failed last week when the Cherokee Supreme Court delivered an opinion upholding the board’s decision.
Candidate forums next week in Canton, Maggie Valley
To mark the start of early voting, The Smoky Mountain News will host a pair of free candidate forums in the towns of Canton and Maggie Valley.
Jackson restricts some referendums to high-turnout elections
The Jackson County Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution Sept. 18 that will limit referendum votes on sales tax increases and bonds to elections when turnout is highest.
Swain elections director to sue county
Swain County Elections Director Joan Weeks recently informed the board of elections that she hired a lawyer and planned to file a lawsuit against the county in an effort to recoup unpaid salary and retirement benefits.
Election Board orders runoff race in Birdtown; candidate files suit in Tribal Court
Uproar over the results of an election recount in the race to represent Cherokee’s Birdtown community on Tribal Council has culminated in a decision to hold a runoff race between contenders Albert Rose and Ashley Sessions — and a lawsuit arguing that the decision was an “egregious error of law.”
Total recount likely in Cherokee elections
The results of a recount in the race for Birdtown Tribal Council sent shock waves through Cherokee from the moment they were announced Sept. 13.
Incumbents ousted in Tribal Council elections
Cherokee voters delivered a clear message to the sitting Tribal Council when they cast their votes in the General Election Thursday, Sept. 7 — they want change.
‘Maybe we can start over’: Desire for change drives Cherokee voters
If Election Day interviews conducted with Cherokee voters swinging by Food Lion the afternoon of Thursday, Sept. 7, are any indication, anti-incumbent sentiment had a big part to play in the outcomes of the 12 Tribal Council races on the ballot that day.
Chief vetoes special election
A Tribal Council resolution calling for a special election to choose the next Vice Chief sat, unsigned, in the office of Principal Chief Richard Sneed since its passage Aug. 3 — until Sneed announced his decision to veto the decision on Monday, Sept. 4.
Schandevel to challenge Rep. Michele Presnell again
After a disappointing loss to an entrenched incumbent in 2016, Beaverdam’s Rhonda Cole Schandevel announced Aug. 26 that she’ll again be a Democratic candidate for the North Carolina General Assembly in House District 118.
