Fuel to the Democratic fire

by | Aug 13, 2018 | 2018 elections, Editor's Blog

Today, all five of North Carolina’s surviving governors are holding a press conference to oppose two of the proposed constitutional amendments that would shift power from the governor to the legislature. The GOP majority in the state house and senate has been trying to concentrate power since it took control. The former governors know that these amendments will erode the separation of powers.

The governors’ opposition highlights the high risk-high reward gamble Republicans took when they put six constitutional amendments on the ballot at the same time. The GOP believed they could motivate their base with amendments that would cap the income tax rate, require an ID to vote and protect the right to hunt and fish, as if anybody were threatening it. The cynical approach to governing has also galvanized opposition to all of the amendments.

A movement has begun to make voting on amendments easy: oppose all six. Instead of asking people to decipher the misleading language the GOP has mandated for the ballot, #NixAllSix urges voters reject all six of the amendments to rebuke the legislature for misusing the constitution as a GOTV tool.

The involvement of the five former governors in opposing two to the amendments will muddle the waters even more. If voters aren’t sure which two of the six they’re opposing, they’re likely to vote against all of them, or at least most of them.

The GOP’s scheme could backfire. Opponents of the Republican legislature see the move as just another abuse of power along with gerrymandering local elections and rigging judicial elections. They offer fuel to the fire that’s already burning among Democratic-leaning voters. The amendments give them just another reason to go the polls. And this year, they’re the more motivated base.

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