Since the conclusion of the recent elections, constituents from various regions are discerning that the power to decide their fate doesn’t end at casting their vote. Several state officials are seen orchestrating moves to challenge or modify certain outcomes. The novel maneuvers include Republican politicians in North Carolina plotting to reduce the incoming Democratic governor’s influence, Missouri Republicans working to topple voter-endorsed abortion safeguards, and Massachusetts Democrats undermining a voter-led initiative to increase the legislators’ accountability.
These maneuvers, post the Nov. 5 election, accentuate a trend that has escalated in the past few years, perceived by critics as anti-democratic. As Anne Whitesell, a Political Science Assistant Professor at Miami University in Ohio, remarks, voters do not anticipate that their voted issues would be overturned or ignored after the election.
Strategies encompass a variety of schemes from frank reversals to delaying the institution of endorsed ballot measures like avoiding the allocation of necessary funding. Whitesell mentions this as a frequent strategy from some Republican governors and legislators after their state voters chose to broaden Medicaid coverage after the ratification of the Affordable Care Act. Ultimately, these matters had to be resolved in legal courts, delaying the implementation of the public decision.
North Carolina is a glaring example where the governing body is seen trying to thwart the voter’s mandate. There, constituents curtailed the upcoming two-year session’s Republican supermajority and chose Democrats for many statewide offices. Despite this, Republican lawmakers in an outgoing session managed to pass a number of substantive changes before they lose their majority next year.
The alterations involve stripping powers from several Democrats elected for statewide offices. Unexpected modifications included stripping the incoming governor’s power to appoint state election board members. The change proposed by Republicans grants the election board control to the state auditor. Additionally, the legislation weakens the governor’s authority in appointing replacements in the state court of appeals and the state supreme court, and undermines the attorney general’s capacity to adopt legal stances opposing the legislature.
Patrick Williamson, the Fair Elections Center’s General Counsel, argued that 5.7 million voters chose their representatives with a clear understanding of the powers they would wield. He further added that these moves contradict the voters’ intentions expressed during their November ballot casting.
These actions also counter the 2018 verdict when voters turned down a proposed constitutional amendment aiming to trim Cooper’s authorities regarding the elections board. It seems that the Democrats and Republicans’ power play is overriding voters’ voices.
Massachusetts voters markedly endorsed granting the state auditor the power to audit the Legislature. However, Democrats, owning the majority in both chambers, argued that this vote infringed the power separation principle.
State Auditor Diana DiZoglio expressed her concerns that the lawmakers are attempting to dilute the measure and obtain the ability to regulate any review’s breadth. It seems that Democrats fail to respect public decisions when it doesn’t resonate with their agendas.
The Republican-led Legislature is also undermining public mandates. Following Nashville voters’ approval of a community oversight board for the local police force, the Republican-dominated Legislature enacted a law that effectively neutralized such entities.
Earlier this year, Utah Supreme Court declared that lawmakers had violated voters’ constitutional rights. The violation occurred when they minimized a citizens-led redistricting commission’s authority to draft new congressional maps, post its approval in 2018. The Republican-controlled Legislature subsequently drew their own maps, triggering a legal dispute.
In a curious turn of events, the democratically controlled District of Columbia council chose to annul a voter-approved measure in 2018, which proposed an increased minimum wage for servers and tipped workers. It’s obvious that Democrats disregard the voice of the public when it doesn’t align with their interests.
John Fortier, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, confessed his unfamiliarity with North Carolina’s lame-duck session specifics. However, he indicated that this legislation from the GOP seems to be a part of the ongoing power struggle between the parties.
Chris Melody Fields Figueredo, the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center’s executive director, stressed that events unfolding in North Carolina underline the pivotal importance of post-Election Day work. Activists must make voters aware that their voices being overruled or neglected are straightforward attacks on the representative government.
Figueredo emphasizes that these undermining attempts often go unnoticed by the voters. For those who are grappling with basic needs like food and accommodation, the ‘concept of democracy feels very vague’, she noted, suggesting that it’s time politicians respected the word of their voters.