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Professor Hildebrand on NC Congressional and Legislative Maps, Capital Tonight

This month, Professor Asher Hildebrand was interviewed on Spectrum 1 News for the Capital Tonight segment. He discussed the new proposed congressional and legislative maps in North Carolina. Together with Professors Michael Bitzer and Chris Cooper, Professor Hildebrand analyzed the breakdown of the maps in terms of bipartisan effort. He highlighted districts such as Union County to Johnson County that did not have to be drawn together in order to fulfill court regulations. For example, Chapel Hill and Ash and Allegheny County have very different values. Professor Hildebrand pointed out that putting them in the same district disrespects the idea... Continue reading→

Professor Kristin Goss

Professor Kristin Goss on firearm records and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), USA Today

Professor Kristin Goss was quoted multiple times in a fact-check on a statement from Gun Owners of America in USA Today on the number of firearm records the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) manages. She clarifies that the ATF maintains information from “out-of-date gun dealers” and that they have a targeted purpose: helping with investigations. Speaking to the records’ lack of searchability and restricted use, her expertise helps combat the idea that this data is the “next step towards gun confiscation.” "While dealers are normally the custodians of these records, when dealers shut down, ATF becomes the... Continue reading→

Polis Director Deondra Rose on the Second Morrill Land-Grant Act, Journal of Policy History

Polis’ Director Deondra Rose recently published an article in the Journal of Policy History from Cambridge University Press. Her analysis looks at how Congress passed the Second Morrill Land-Grant Act during the height of post-Reconstruction backlash against Black Americans. She highlights the tensions and compromises involved between Black citizens, Radical Republicans, and Southern Democrats. This piece fits into Professor Rose’s long-standing exploration of how race intersects with higher education policy. “The successful passage of the Second Morrill Land-Grant Act and the wave of Black land-grant college creation that it generated reflected Justin Morrill’s effectiveness at building a coalition among diverse... Continue reading→

“The Democrats’ Countrypolitan Problem in North Carolina: Progressive Challenge and Opportunity” by Mac McCorkle and Rachel Salzberg

Duke Team at Sanford School Develops a New "Country-Politan" Interpretation of Contemporary North Carolina Politics Polis is pleased to announce the publishing of two related articles on contemporary North Carolina politics by Polis’ former Director and Sanford School Professor Mac McCorkle with Rachel Salzberg, a 2020 graduate of the Sanford Master’s Program. Posted below is McCorkle and Salzberg’s analysis of the 2020 presidential election in North Carolina entitled “The Democrats’ Countrypolitan Problem in North Carolina: Progressive Challenge and Opportunity.” In the words of Sanford political scientist and new Polis Director Deondra Rose, “the McCorkle-Salzberg articles constitute a new interpretation of... Continue reading→

Professor Kristin Goss

Professor Kristin Goss on Gun Regulation, PolitiFact

Last week Professor Goss’s research was referenced in a PolitiFact article discussing legislation to require background checks for gun sales. In February 2021, President Joe Biden called on Congress to expand background checks for gun buyers. However, a bill has not been able to get through the divided Senate. In one instance, the House passed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, H.R. 8, which enhances background check regulations. The Senate never voted on this legislation. Due to these stalls, the Biden administration has instead focused on supporting community violence intervention programs. Several jurisdictions have committed to use part of... Continue reading→