BRIEFING #5
North Carolina Pre-Election Briefing
WHEN: COMPLETED 10/18/24
WHAT: This North Carolina briefing introduced the Election Overtime project and highlighted potential election issues facing North Carolina, including access to voting as a result of the impacts of Hurricane Helene. The online event also featured an overview of resources for journalists, presentations from members of our speakers’ bureau, and stressed the importance of accurate reporting.
SPEAKERS
Heather Balas
Heather Balas, Vice President of the Election Reformers Network, will moderate the briefing and provide context on the Election Overtime legal briefing materials. She brings over 25 years of experience in public policy, including research, citizen deliberation, advocacy, and voter education. Heather is a senior consultant to the Carter Center, advising on reforms to strengthen American democracy. Heather is the previous President and Executive Director of New Mexico First, a cross-partisan public policy organization co-founded by former U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Pete Domenici. She holds a master’s degree in political communication from the University of Maryland and a bachelor’s degree in journalism. |
Kevin Johnson
Kevin Johnson, Executive Director of the Election Reformers Network, will present newly released survey data on voter understanding of the rule of law in elections, as well as context around the increased attention to certification procedures in the U.S. He is the co-founder ERN, and since 2017, has led the organization’s research and advocacy programs focused on impartial election administration, independent redistricting, and election protection. Kevin draws on decades of experience supporting emerging democracies overseas and advancing reforms in the U.S. Kevin holds an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from Yale University. Bob Orr, former North Carolina State Supreme Court Justice
Robert F. "Bob" Orr is an American attorney, jurist, and politician who served as an associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1995 to 2004. In 2004, Orr retired from the state Supreme Court during the summer to head the newly formed North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law. Orr was a Republican candidate for governor of North Carolina in the 2008 North Carolina gubernatorial election. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Orr served in the United States Army from 1968 to 1971. Orr returned to Chapel Hill to earn his Juris Doctor at the University of North Carolina School of Law. |
Damon Circosta, former Chair, North Carolina State Election Board
Damon is the former chair of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, serving from 2019- 2023. He is also a licensed attorney and serves as an adjunct professor at Duke University. Circosta serves as Executive Director of the A.J. Fletcher Foundation. Towanna Dixon, Elections Director, Moore County, NC
Towanna Dixon serves as the Elections Director for Moore County. She previously served as Hoke County’s elections director since 2017. Dixon began her career as an elections clerk in Hoke County in 2010. |

Jennifer Watson Roberts served as a four-term Mecklenburg County Commissioner, was next elected as the 58th Mayor of Charlotte, and then ran the Communities Program on climate solutions for a national environmental non-profit, ecoAmerica. She is the only person to be elected to serve as both Chairman of the Mecklenburg County Commission and later as Mayor of Charlotte. Since the summer of 2021, Roberts has been the North Carolina co-lead for the Carter Center’s Democracy Resilience Project, along with former NC Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr. By working with several coalition partners, this initiative seeks to restore faith in established democratic norms and pave the way for fair, safe, and secure elections in the coming years. She also currently serves on numerous community boards and commissions in Charlotte.