The right to vote. It is the foundation upon which our democracy
is built. And that right is under attack in the state of North Carolina, according
to the Wake County Superior Court which just threw out two of the recently
ratified NC constitutional amendments: voter I.D. and the income tax cap. The
Court ruled that the North Carolina General Assembly is so profoundly
gerrymandered that those elected do not represent the desires of citizens of
this state. The Court stated that: "An
illegally constituted General Assembly does not represent the people of North
Carolina and is therefore not empowered to pass legislation that would amend
the state's constitution."
This ruling comes down at the same time North Carolina’s 9th
Congressional District struggles with a different kind of voter
disenfranchisement. The State Board of Elections has declined to seat Republican
John Harris who appeared to have won the November General Election by a little
over 900 votes. The Board found that political operative McCrae Dowless committed
fraud in running Harris’s absentee ballot campaign in Bladen County and refused
to seat him. While Harris has fought to be seated since the election, claiming
that the number of contested ballots would not have changed the outcome, on
yesterday during a fraud hearing he capitulated to the Board’s call for a new
race after blistering testimony from his son, John Harris. The younger Harris challenged
his father’s statement that he was unaware of Dowless’ history of shady
electioneering. John Harris went on to say that he had advised his father
against hiring Dowless.
These are very real examples of why federal oversight of voting
rights in the South is as important today as it was when the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. That Act
was aimed at overcoming legal barriers at the state and local levels that
prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote as guaranteed
under the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The obvious gerrymandering of North Carolina voting districts,
as well as the brazen manipulation and destruction of absentee ballots in
Bladen County are representative of a blatant disrespect for minority voting
rights in this state. We can take some comfort in the fact that the Wake County
Superior Court and the State Board of Elections did their due diligence to
level the playing field in these instances. But how many other similar
situations have gone unchallenged? How many legislators sit in our halls of
democracy as illegitimate representatives of the districts they purport to
serve?
And, unfortunately, North Carolina does not stand alone. We can
look to states such as Florida and Georgia to discern that the “New South” is
not that new. Questionable election practices in both these states leave us to
wonder at the legitimacy of those elections. The question is, was every vote counted,
and did every citizen have access?
If we do not safeguard the right of every citizen to participate
in our democracy then we fail to live up to our fullest potential. Candidates
should not choose their voters.
Voters should not have to suffer undue hardships to gain access to the ballot
box and every legitimate vote should be counted.
In order for us to be a truly self-governing republic, our elected
officials must represent our core values and beliefs. If their very existence is based on illegally
constituted districts and irregular election practices how can they possibly
represent us?
The Wake County Superior Court and the North Carolina Board of
Elections say they cannot. For that, at least we can be thankful.
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