21st Century
North Carolina remains a control state. Only 1 of the state's 100 counties—Graham, a rural county in the mountains of western North Carolina—remains "dry" (the sale of alcoholic beverages is illegal). Even in rural areas, the opposition to selling and drinking alcoholic beverages is declining.
By 2005, every state surrounding North Carolina had a lottery in operation. That same year, following substantial political maneuvering, the state legislature voted to implement the North Carolina Education Lottery. The state lottery began selling tickets on March 31, 2006. The lottery has had low sales since its inception.
North Carolina gave its electoral votes to Barack Obama in 2008. This was the first time since 1976 a Democrat had North Carolina's electoral votes. The state flipped back to the Republican column in 2012, giving its electoral votes to Mitt Romney.
Read more about this topic: Politics And Government Of North Carolina, Politics
Famous quotes containing the word century:
“man’s life is thought,
And he, despite his terror, cannot cease
Ravening through century after century,
Ravening, raging, and uprooting that he may come
Into the desolation of reality....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)