Upcoming Events: Sun, Dec 2, 3:00pm, League of Women Voters of North Carolina, webinar to discuss results and impact of the 2018 election and review League successes and challenges in 2018 and beyond, open to ALL League members & supporters.
I hope everyone had a restful holiday, and I hope any Trump-supporting relatives found themselves too busy chewing turkey and chasing Black Friday deals to break the peace.
The NCGA reconvened for the Republicans’ last supermajority session yesterday. NC Policy Watch made some predictions about what the lame-duck session would—and could—do. Yesterday’s post is a great summary of the Elections Oversight Committee meeting to formulate the language of the voter ID amendment, as well as what was agreed upon and comments from people across the political spectrum. Tim Boyum has the two-bits version of what was rolled out at the start of the session.
We are routinely in Gerry Cohen’s debt for providing intelligent, well-researched and nuanced analysis of the goings-on in the NCGA. I recommend you give his statement on the proposed amendment a read.
By the end of the day yesterday, the voter ID legislation had evolved some, and to my surprise, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. The bill would:
-Allow voters to use expired IDs, as long as they expired within a year or after one's 65th birthday
-Allow voters to use college IDs and state or local government employee badges
-Allow voters hit with natural disasters within 60 days of election day to NOT have to show ID to vote
-Allow for replacement IDs to be sent to voters (free of charge and automatically) whose driver's licenses have been revoked or suspended
This isn't an exhaustive list; the N&O has a more comprehensive report on the current version of the bill.
We don’t know how long this lame duck session will last, but we do know what the NCGOP isn’t going to lose their controlling interest in North Carolina politics without a fight. There is more on the agenda than just photo ID. Among other things, the session will examine Hurricane Florence relief, adjusting the (currently unconstitutional) arrangement of the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement, and an economics incentive bill, though not on the agenda, has already been heard in the Senate Commerce Committee. We don’t know what else may crop up, but keep a sharp eye on the NCGA over the next few weeks and be ready to call your reps if shenanigans happen.
Senators Mike Woodard (D-Durham) and Ben Clark (D-Hoke) submitted their own voter ID bill yesterday. We expect to learn full details about the bill soon, but I presume this new bill will include a One-Stop Photo ID option similar to the One-Stop Voting procedure during elections, which Senator Clark explains in his statement linked above.
Thomas Farr's nomination to a US District Court judgeship in North Carolina is getting contentious, and rightfully so. As an attorney in North Carolina, Thomas Farr had supported Jesse Helms' campaign by mailing postcards to primarily black communities informing them they could be arrested at the polls for voter fraud. He also helped defend the 2013 voter ID law that targeted black voters almost exclusively. Farr is party to a massive voter suppression effort and heir to the GOP's continued efforts at making sure the civil rights movement never happened in North Carolina. Call Senators Tillis and Burr repeatedly and tell them not to confirm Thomas Farr.
On a happier note...
The Democrats have officially broken the GOP supermajority in BOTH houses of the NCGA. Do I hear angels singing?
John Arrowood became the first LGBTQ candidate elected to statewide office in North Carolina. He was elected to the NC Court of Appeals. Congratulations, John!
In a victory for environmentalism and public health, the NC Department of Environmental Quality is fining Chemours Co., guilty of allowing the chemical GenX to leak from its Fayetteville plant, $13M and requiring them to provide clean drinking water to the affected people.
Perhaps the blue wave won't be a big breaker; perhaps what we'll see is a blue-slowly-rising-tide. All the better to wash away the damage the GOP has done for good. Let's keep working!
