I've been waiting for NC- a state with Republican majorities in the legislature and the elected judiciary- to take the lead on election integrity.
That time looks to be here.
This is Sandy Smith from NC's First District- and I am fighting for election integrity here in NC!Will you join me?
The good news is that the NC Supreme Court set dates to hear the appeals of two horrendous and unconstitutional decisions!
Indy Week reports:
The North Carolina Supreme Court will rehear oral arguments in redistricting and voter ID cases in mid-March, according to a calendar posted to their website late last week.
The high court issued rulings on the two cases, authored by the then-Democratic majority, last year. The majority invalidated Republicans’ voter ID law and ruled that the state Senate map used in last year’s elections was an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander.
Republicans gained control of the Supreme Court in last year’s midterms, flipping the court to a 5-2 Republican majority. Republican legislators asked for new hearings in those cases after the election, a request the Supreme Court granted earlier this month.
The Supreme Court has heard multiple high-profile cases since the new Republican justices took the bench in January. That new majority appeared skeptical of the voting rights of some 56,000 on probation or parole as part of a felony conviction—a right restored in a Superior Court ruling issued last year—and is currently considering four cases involving racial discrimination in jury selection.
The redistricting case will be heard at 12:45 p.m. on March 14. The justices will hear the voter ID case at 12:45 the next day, March 15.
So... March it is!
Of course, none of this would be necessary if we just ended this debate like we ended elections-related debates before... with a Constitutional amendment that establishes total legal clarity!
I am thrilled that the NC Supreme Court seems ready to overturn its own bad mistakes and affirm the peoples' will. Still, it should never have come to this.
It's time to make our commitment to free and fair elections permanent.
