Young Republicans in North Carolina are heading north of the border this weekend to volunteer in the Virginia governor's race, Rob Christensen reports.

Polls show Republican Bob McDonnell leading Democrat Creigh Deeds.

"The outcome of the elections in Virginia could set the tone for what happens in North Carolina in 2010; similar to the 1993-94 election cycles," said Jonathan Brady, chairman of the N.C. Young Republicans. "If won by Republicans, these races could spark a much needed fire in individuals to get out and work for Republican candidates here in North Carolina."

The two-day trip is being paid for by the Young Republican National Federation and the Virginia Victory program.

June Atkinson is airing her displeasure.

In a congratulatory statement to new State Board of Education chairman Bill Harrison, the schools superintendent again repeated her belief that he is treading on her turf.

"I believe this action violates the Constitution of North Carolina and usurps the will of the voters who granted me the privilege to serve as State Superintendent of Public Instruction," she said in a statement.

She went on to repeat her belief that the legislature should resolve the tug-of-war between the positions of governor and superintendent on education, adding that it may end up being resolved in court.

"I will not abdicate my constitutional and statutory responsibilities," she said.

After the jump, the full statement.

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A bill would let the governor appoint top judges.

Rep. Johnathan Rhyne, a Lincoln County Republican and family law attorney, said he filed the bill to improve the appellate court system.

"It's a recognition that 99 percent of the voting public has no idea who they're voting for," he said.

Under the proposal, a Judicial Nomination Commission would vet potential judges for the N.C. Court of Appeals and the N.C. Supreme Court. They would then forward a list of recommendations to the governor, who would make the appointments.

In many ways, the system would be similar to the one used now for unexpected vacancies, Rhyne said. A difference is that the judges would later face a retention election — essentially an up-or-down vote by the people after they'd been in office for a while.

If they lost, the governor would appoint another judge. 

Rhyne, who served on a commission that looked into the judicial system in the early 1990s, said that the goal is to get better judges.

"Electing judges when the public does not know who they're voting for is like walking down a highway in the dark," he said. "It's dangerous, and you don't need to do that."

"When the governor leaves the state and the lieutenant governor becomes 'acting governor' is there any official notification given?" Dome reader Chris Hayes

Under Article III, Section 3 of the state constitution, the lieutenant governor serves as "acting governor" at the following times: "during the absence of the Governor from the State, or during the physical or mental incapacity of the Governor to perform the duties of his office."

In the case of physical incapacity, the governor may file a written statement with the attorney general declaring when she is not able to serve and when she's ready to return.

The legislature has to determine mental incapacity by a two-thirds vote of all the members of both chambers after hearing from the governor, though only a majority is required to declare that she is capable again.

But neither the constitution nor state law spells out the procedures for the governor to declare when she's away.

Chrissy Pearson, a spokeswoman for Gov. Beverly Perdue, said that the governor's staff notifies the lieutenant governor when she is out of state.

"There is no official protocol to do it by email or by phone," she said.

Incidentally, succession after the lieutenant governor is spelled out by state law: Senate president, Speaker of the House, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, schools superintendent, attorney general, and the commissioners of agriculture, labor and insurance.

And while the lieutenant governor is in charge, he is paid the governor's salary, too.

The authors of the state constitution didn't anticipate Beverly Perdue.

In laying out the role of the governor in North Carolina, Article III of the constitution describes the job soon to be assumed by the state's first female governor using the male pronoun "he" or "his" 25 different times.

Nowhere does the constitution explicitly limit the state's chief executive to men, but language used throughout seems to assume it.

"No person shall be eligible for election to the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor unless, at the time of his election, he shall have attained the age of 30 years," it says, in a typical passage.

It also makes mention of "his office," "his election" and "his successor."

History offers little excuse. Although the state's prior constitutions date back to 1776 and 1868, the current one was ratified in 1971 — at the height of the second-wave feminist movement.

Perdue has faced this dilemma before as the state's first female lieutenant governor, a position also described with the male pronoun in the constitution.

Update: "Governor-elect Perdue has overcome many barriers in her career — an inaccurate pronoun is just one more to add to the list," said Perdue spokesman David Kochman.

The constitution also describes the duties and qualifications of Supreme Court justices using the male pronoun, but other statewide elected offices are only described using plural pronouns, so they do not have the same problem.