Voter ID, tax cap amendments have been struck down

As if last week wasn’t exciting enough for NC progressives, on Friday a Wake County judge struck down two amendments that were placed on the ballot last year by the Republican-controlled General Assembly. The ruling is certain to be appealed, but its chances of being ultimately upheld are good.

• The judge’s ruling reflected something we’ve been saying for years. The illegally-gerrymandered legislature had no business passing any new laws, much less important changes to our state constitution.
• An illegitimate legislature has no business making decisions for voters who have very little say in what the politicians do. If the Republican-controlled General Assembly wanted their decisions to stand, they shouldn’t have gerrymandered themselves into a supermajority.
• Senate leader Phil Berger said the ruling “could throw the entire state into chaos, as every law passed since June 2017 – including the budget – is called into question.” If that’s the case, Berger has nobody to blame but himself.
• The GOP vote theft scheme in Congressional District 9 show that Republicans don’t care about protecting elections — they care about protecting their majority. Voter ID laws aren’t about stopping voter fraud, they’re about suppressing eligible voters.

No matter what happens to this decision on appeal, it’s certainly a step in the right direction for our state.