RALEIGH: Over half a dozen constitutional amendments will be on the ballot this November thanks to Republicans’ “Hail Mary” attempt to turn out conservative voters and save their seats in November. These amendments include…
… Capping the income tax, which could lead to higher sales taxes, hitting working families the hardest, and hamstringing education funding.
In one of their many constitutional amendments, Republicans have hidden a backdoor measure that will allow them to appoint members to the state Supreme Court, potentially tipping the balance from a 4-3 Democratic majority to a 5-4 Republican majority. Tired of being thwarted by fairness and impartiality, the GOP is once again attacking the last thing standing in the way of their partisan power grabs – the courts.
Seriously. In yet another constitutional amendment, Republican lawmakers moved appointment powers from the Governor to the legislature with one line:
“The legislative powers of the State government shall control the powers, duties, responsibilities, appointments and terms of office of any board or commission prescribed by general law.”
“clarify the appointment authority of the Legislative and Judicial branches.”
This isn’t just a normal power-grab. This is undermining the separation of powers to give the legislature complete control over everything from how people can vote to the cost of energy bills and the quality of drinking water.
They might as well have passed Sen. Lowe’s amendment that “strips all power from the Administration and transfers power to the GA”:
While Republicans rammed through one constitutional amendment after another, they left public schools in the dust, failing to put a $1.9 billion bond for school upgrades on the ballot in November. Once again, Republican lawmakers have put their corporate donors before our public schools, teachers, and children.
It’s not like 20,000 teachers marched on the General Assembly less than two months ago to protest being left behind by Republican lawmakers.
WATCH the House Democratic Caucus Press Conference HERE
North Carolina Democrats stood up to Republican power grabbing…
This week saw a shameless display of partisan politics from Republican leaders – and a look at how they plan to act if they get control of every board and commission appointment and judicial vacancy through constitutional amendment.
The one reason they did give for shooting down a Cooper appointee was because that nominee was “too pro-worker.” You read that right. Sticking up for workers is a bad thing, according to the NC GOP.
We all knew Republicans couldn’t just adjourn sine die and go home. No, they needed to make sure they can finish undermining our judiciary and democratic checks and balances if their constitutional amendments succeed.
Yesterday, NC Republicans signed an adjournment resolution stating they’ll return in November – two weeks after a bruising election where they know they’re destined to lose their supermajority – for a lame duck session and one last ditch attempt to enshrine their unconstitutional influence over North Carolina.
They’ll use this time to pack the courts after a bruising election while they still have their supermajority. House Democratic Leader Jackson said it best:
“It’s become clear to me that this bill is nothing but a court packing scheme. If Anita Earls loses the Supreme Court race in November, you’re planning on adding two more justices to the Supreme Court and have the legislature select them … Don’t try to tell us one thing when your intentions are something else.”
NC Democrats filed a complaint against a dark-money GOP group, led by former NC House Republican Caucus Director Jim Burton, that attempted to meddle in our judicial elections. The group sent out misleading mailers encouraging Democratic lawyers to throw their hat in the ring, flooding the judicial ticket and splitting the Democratic vote.
On top of that, two of the three appellate court races have a Republican or Libertarian challenger. Nice work, NC GOP.
Thanks to Republicans’ unfunded early voting mandate, County election boards are facing the difficult choice between cutting weekend voting hours or cutting some early voting sites entirely, and struggling to find staff to cover the extended hours.
Triad City Beat:
Daily Reflector:
When Republicans realized they hadn’t gotten away with it, they restored the final Saturday of early voting…
Sen. Hise’s multiple ethics complaints, including illegally paying himself more than $10,000 from his campaign account, didn’t stop him from shepherding through sweeping changes to the State Board of Elections this week. The changes came in the form of a constitutional amendment that removes any teeth the board has to go after politicians who abuse their power – politicians like Sen. Hise.
SCOTUS punted North Carolina’s partisan gerrymandering case back to lower courts this week in a decision that delays justice for North Carolina’s voters.
Republicans thought they’d give their unconstitutionally gerrymandered maps one more shot, asking the Supreme Court to change our maps once again five months before the election. The justices weren’t having it.
On constitutional amendments…
N&O:
“Bad process leads to bad policy, and this is a constitutional train wreck waiting to happen. Any attempt to amend the state Constitution should be deliberate. In the last 20 years, the legislature has taken seven constitutional amendments to voters. These legislative leaders are rushing through two decades' worth of proposed amendments in one week.”
News & Record:
“We will delay for another day discussion about the merits of each proposed amendment, but let’s be clear about this: None of these issues should be established as part of the state’s foundational document. If these ideas have merit, lawmakers should write, pass and enact laws. Don’t place these among the tenets of how our state will be governed, among your inalienable rights. These are not constitution-level topics. That’s all you need to know.”
Charlotte Observer:
“It’s all part of a larger cynical strategy: Put a half-dozen constitutional amendments on the November ballot to gin up Republican turnout and stem the losses they expect to incur in a Democratic-friendly election. If it causes great damage to the state, so be it, they think; at least it preserves their power for a little longer.”
WRAL:
“More than anything, this raft of constitutional amendments along with other laws being shoved through the legislature, seem to be acts of partisan desperation.Although the state has been severely gerrymandered and election laws rigged to keep Republicans in power, there is a ground swell of speculation that many Republican incumbents could loose their seats this November. Vote against all of the amendments and the legislators who pushed them. November can’t come soon enough.”
On capping the income tax…
N&O:
“Reducing the current cap by half inevitably will lead to increases in other taxes and levies. Future legislatures that agree on a need for more state revenue would have to look beyond the income tax and raise the sales tax or increase fees. Meanwhile, local governments starved of state support will raise property taxes and fees.”
On partisan gerrymandering case…
Fayetteville Observer:
“Well of course we’re harmed. There is a jarring conflict of numbers evident when we look at the number of legislative seats held by Republicans, compared with the actual voter registrations in North Carolina. Democrats are still the most prevalent political species in North Carolina, albeit far short of their power just 15 or 20 years ago. The second-largest political registration is the state’s unenrolled voters, who last year pushed Republicans to No. 3.”
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