There has been a lot of coverage of this already, so this won’t be a long post. Check out a local event on the amendments, like Rep. Marcia Morey and the Durham Democratic Women’s event tomorrow (August 12) from 3 to 5 pm at the Durham Democratic Party HQ (2634 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd). For those who can’t make it, here’s a quick primer:
Voter ID Amendment – we all know what this is about. Republicans can’t win a fair election, so they’re deliberately making it harder for people to vote. This will most significantly impede the votes of people of color and college students, but irrespective of partisan impact, we should ALWAYS be making it EASIER for people to vote. As if we needed more reason to oppose, the actual ID requirements will be set by the legislature after the amendment passes. So it’s not even clear what we’re voting on.
Tax Cap Amendment – this will impose a 7% cap on the state income tax (the current rate is 5.75%, the current constitutional cap is 10%). This will hurt funding for public education and other public services, and will further move the tax burden toward localities and sales tax (which is highly regressive).
Judicial Selection Amendment – this is misleadingly called a “nonpartisan merit-based system.” It’s not. It’s a power grab by the legislature to force the Governor to pick from their favorite two partisan judicial selections. Do you want this legislature picking judges? Didn’t think so. Another terrifying aspect of this: the way the amendment is written would allow the legislature to bypass the Governor’s veto on any legislation just by attaching it to a judicial selection bill. If you believe that’s an accident, I have a bridge to sell you.
Elections Board Amendment – again, misleadingly called a “bipartisan” board, but it’s really just another way for the legislature to bypass the governor. And again, it is deliberately written to allow the legislature to take over a large portion of the executive branch’s responsibilities. If you like separation of powers (and with this legislature, you’d better), vote against.
Hunting and Fishing Amendment – not exactly a terrifying amendment, but poorly defined and could lead to lots of litigation over environmental regulations. I love fishing, but there doesn’t appear to be a problem with the current scope of hunting and fishing rights.
Victim’s Rights Amendment – We already have a statutory “Victim’s Bill of Rights” in NCGS 15A-830 through 15A-841. This amendment doesn’t do a lot more than codify the statute into the constitution.
There is a campaign to #NixAllSix. That’s probably the easiest way to communicate this. But the first four above are the real problems. Get the word out, because the language that will appear on your ballot is highly deceptive.
Durham Precinct 35.3 