A Follow-Up to Governor McCrory from the North Carolina Forward Party

When outside voices point out structural defects and foundational flaws in our state government and electoral system, few take notice. But when these criticisms come from a former governor and longtime party leader who rose through that system to a position of power, it should come as a wake-up call that the time for real reform is now.

Speaking in January to an audience at the Greater Fayetteville Chamber, our former Governor and Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, a lifelong Republican and subsequent supporter of the No Labels movement, shone a light on the political system in North Carolina, acknowledging out loud what many of us have suspected for years but have rarely heard so plainly: the system is intentionally structured to reduce competition and limit voter choice.

The Problem

As reported on January 15 by CityView, a monthly print magazine and an online news outlet covering Fayetteville and Cumberland County, Governor McCrory described the state’s existing election rules as “outrageous” and “rigged by the two parties,” pointing to gerrymandering, restrictive ballot access, and partisan primaries that often decide elections long before most voters have a say. 

He is right about the diagnosis–and the numbers are shocking. Simply put, the two entrenched political parties that dominate our existing landscape are actively limiting competition as threats to their grip on power, using the rules of the system, including the legal framework governing elections, to maintain it. 

Consider this: in North Carolina, unaffiliated voters–those not registered with any current party–comprise nearly 40% of the total electorate, far exceeding the number of individuals registered as either Democrats or Republicans. Yet, year after year, our ballots do not reflect this reality. Of the approximately 300 candidates appearing on the general election ballot for U.S. Congress this century in North Carolina, we’ve had but one Independent. And without any real third-party representation, 40% of our electorate is effectively unrepresented…both in Congress and in the state legislature. 

More alarming is the North Carolina state law suppressing representation on our state and individual county boards of elections. Under existing legal statutes, those serving on the State Board of Elections must be appointees of state party chairs of the two political parties having the highest number of registered affiliates (i.e., the Democratic and Republican parties). This effectively ensures that no third-party representatives or independents can serve on the Board. It’s no surprise, then, that achieving ballot access in North Carolina for a fledgling third party involves arcane, antiquated, and ever-shifting requirements and hurdles that do nothing but make it easier for the two established parties to hold onto power.

And the structural consequences of this system are impossible to ignore.

Electorally, North Carolina’s heavily manipulated maps manifest in “safe” districts that are dominated by the most ideological voters, with legislators engineering partisan primaries that render general elections as foregone conclusions. This system all but sidelines a vast majority of voters in these elections. It can no longer be denied that such a system, built on safe seats and partisan control of election rules, only serves to protect parties, not voters.

This is not a red problem or a blue problem; it’s a democracy problem.

The Solution

Now, to address the change Mr. McCrory alluded to:

“We all deserve choice. And it needs to be more than two choices.” On that point, Governor, we agree. 

This reality is precisely why the Forward Party exists. We are not just a new party. We are a new kind of party, focused less on ideology and power and more on people, offering them more choice at the ballot box and a louder voice when it comes to picking their elected leaders.

Voters already know what’s broken in our system. It’s easiest to see in politicians who stay in office for decades and in districts drawn to protect parties rather than voters. That’s why we support mandatory term limits and an end to partisan gerrymandering through fair, non-partisan redistricting.

These reforms are widely supported across the political spectrum. Yet Democrats and Republicans routinely acknowledge the problem while refusing to pass meaningful legislation to fix it. Reform is discussed, but never delivered.

The same dynamic explains why our voting system remains unchanged. We hear it constantly from voters on the Right and the Left: “We like what you’re doing, but voting for you feels like throwing our vote away and helping the other side.” That fear is not accidental—it is by design.

Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) eliminates the spoiler and “wasted vote” problem, allowing voters to express their true preferences without fear. There is no serious policy reason the two major parties oppose it. The simpler explanation is that they are afraid of what voters might choose if given a real choice.

That difference matters. We don’t treat election reform as a talking point—it is the foundation of our platform. We push for reforms that benefit voters, not parties: term limits, fair maps, real campaign finance reform, and voting systems that reward consensus and require candidates to earn a true majority.

Looking Ahead

North Carolina is changing. It is growing, diversifying, and increasingly independent in how its citizens think and vote. Our political system, however, remains stuck in an outdated two-party framework that no longer represents and works for the electorate it governs. 

The North Carolina Forward Party represents a growing coalition of former Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who are fed up with this framework and united around a simple principle: voters should choose their leaders, not the other way around. Right now, we are building a movement of like-minded citizens and elected officials who share our vision, while working toward achieving ballot access to directly challenge the two-party duopoly at the ballot box in the years to come.

As Governor McCrory intimated, the question now facing all of us becomes: Do we continue living with the status quo, or do we act to bring about the change we all know is badly needed?

The North Carolina Forward Party is choosing the latter. For our state. For its voters. For our democracy. 

Are our citizens ready to do the same?

The January 15 article with Governor McCrory can be viewed here.