Get busy fighting or brace for democracy dying
“A Red Alert for Voting Rights” is the Zoom call scheduled tomorrow by Carolina Forward. The topic is North Carolina politics. But the red alert is broader than that.
Twitter followers of former Ohio state Democratic Party chair, David Pepper (“Saving Democracy: A User’s Manual for Every American“), know he’s been leaning hard into Ohio Republicans’ attempt to thwart a citizen initiative to secure abortion rights in the state constitution. The GOP-dominated legislature has scheduled an August special election to pass a constitutional amendment that would make it harder for citizens to pass their “Right to Reproductive Freedom” amendment in November.
Democracy Docket has an update on that Ohio fight:
On Monday, June 12, the Ohio Supreme Court ordered the Ohio Ballot Board and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) to rewrite parts of the ballot language for Senate Joint Resolution 2, a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution that would increase the threshold to pass constitutional amendments from 50% to 60%.
This decision stems from a lawsuit filed in late May by a group of Ohio voters and the group One Person One Vote arguing that the adopted ballot title and ballot language for the proposed amendment is inaccurate and misleading to voters in violation of the Ohio Constitution and state law.
In particular, the petitioners alleged that the ballot’s title — “ELEVATING THE STANDARDS TO QUALIFY FOR AND TO PASS ANY CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT” — is inaccurate.
In today’s order, the Ohio Supreme Court agreed with the petitioners in part, holding that “the word ‘any’ is likely to mislead voters” since it “could give voters the false impression that the proposed amendment would make it more difficult to qualify all proposed constitutional amendments for the ballot.” In reality, the proposed amendment — if passed — would only increase the ballot-qualification standards for citizen-led “initiative petitions but not for constitutional amendments proposed by the General Assembly or at a constitutional convention.”
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This decision is a victory for Ohio voters since the ballot language and title will have to be rewritten to be more clear. Aside from this case, another lawsuit filed by One Person One Vote regarding S.J.R. 2 is currently pending in the Ohio Supreme Court. That lawsuit asks the state Supreme Court to prohibit LaRose from holding a special election on Aug. 8, 2023 regarding S.J.R. 2, alleging that it is against state law to hold a statewide election in August.
Meanwhile, North Carolina Republicans have filed multiple bills aimed at rewriting the rules for voting, and stripping the governor of authorities in the administration of elections.
Democracy Docket again:
On Monday, June 12, North Carolina Republicans introduced Senate Bill 749, a bill to reform the structure of the state and county boards of elections, giving lawmakers more power in the process.
S.B. 749 would remove the governor’s power to appoint board members and grant it to the North Carolina Legislature instead. Political parties would be able to nominate members, but the Legislature would not be required to follow their suggestions. Additionally, the boards would have an even number of Democrats and Republicans. Under current law, the party that holds the governor’s office (currently Democrats) is empowered to appoint a majority of board members.
This is not the first time that the North Carolina Republican Party has attempted to restructure the board. Following the election of Gov. Roy Cooper (D) in November 2016, but prior to his term’s commencement, the GOP-led Legislature enacted two bills, S.B. 4 and H.B. 17, that abolished the existing Board and Ethics Commission and created a new combined Bipartisan State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement. Former Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signed the legislation into law the same day. In January 2018, after Cooper sued Republican legislators, the North Carolina Supreme Court found the bills violated the separation-of-powers provisions in the state constitution as they “imping[ed] upon the Governor’s ability to faithfully execute the laws.”
In 2018, voters rejected an amendment by 62% that would have similarly granted the Legislature more control over the state board of elections. All living former governors of the state (three Democrats and two Republicans) came together publicly and urged North Carolinians to vote against the amendment with former Gov. Jim Martin (R) asserting,”This is not about partisan politics. It’s about power politics, and it must be stopped.”
NC S.B. 749 comes on the heels of proposed Senate Bill 747 that imposes a series of new voting restrictions:
The bill was introduced on the heels of reporting from WRAL, a local North Carolina outlet, that state lawmakers were drafting legislation with input from the Election Integrity Network, a right-wing organization run by Cleta Mitchell, who led former President Donald Trump’s legal effort to overturn the 2020 election results. Mitchell stated she did not help draft any legislation.
S.B. 747, according to journalist Will Doran, appears to be the first of the new election bills. The Republican-controlled North Carolina Legislature has a narrow veto-proof majority after formerly Democratic state Rep. Tricia Cotham (R) switched parties in April. Now, the North Carolina GOP has the votes to override prospective vetoes from Gov. Roy Cooper (D).
Stay woke. Not all the attacks on democracy today are happening in Miami.