George Orwell said, probably apocryphally, that some ideas are so absurd that only intellectuals believe them, and maybe there’s a 2016 election corollary. Witness the uncritical ovation for a new study that claims elections in North Carolina are less free and fair than the likes of Cuba.

Progressives are enraged that the Republican-controlled Tar Heel legislature recently transferred some powers to the legislature from the Governor, who will be a Democrat come January. We thought the move was politically dumb, though debates...