Voting is key to securing our freedoms.
For two years, Qnotes has been reporting on our elections in a project called QnotesDemocracy: Our Rights at Risk. It started as an effort to make sure that the local LGBTQ+ community was informed leading into the 2022 midterms and has since been focused on the candidates and issues in the 2024 general election.
From the existential threat posed by gubernatorial candidate Lt. Governor Mark Robinson to the N.C. School board race, Qnotes staff has put a spotlight on the importance of this election to queer people and to democracy itself.
In an effort of the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative, which Qnotes is a founding member, we are launching our 2024 Voter Guide.
The partners of the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative have worked together for several weeks to survey candidates on the issues that matter to our communities. Not everyone responded, but working together we were able to expand the capacity for such a project across six newsrooms and use our combined power to get the information you deserve.
How do candidates plan to tackle the issue of rising violent crime? How will they address the need for affordable housing, healthcare and food access?
What about book bans in our public schools? How do Mecklenburg County Commissioner candidates plan to address the needs of our rapidly growing area?
Our goal is to empower voters in Mecklenburg County to make informed decisions in the upcoming election.
Mail-in ballots have already gone out and early in-person voting begins on October 17. You can find these dates, early voting sites and links to all of the election coverage from the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative partners at charlottejournalism.org/cjc-election-hub. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library has also provided a democracy-focused reading list.
The 2024 Voter Guide is viewable above so before you head to the polls, or your mail-in ballot, we urge you to get informed on where candidates stand.Â
Since 2019, the CJC has built a collaborative journalism community that promotes civic engagement and is focused on serving the information needs of Charlotte’s residents. Members of the collaborative include the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, The Charlotte Observer, James L. Knight School of Communication at Queens University of Charlotte, La Noticia, QCity Metro, Qnotes, UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, WCNC Charlotte and WFAE 90.7 FM.
