Despite the conclusion of the recent election, some voters across the nation are finding out that voting may not always seal the fate of candidates or state regulations. Understanding that laws can be modified or nullified, legislators in various states have embarked on planning for such changes. The Republican Party in North Carolina, for instance, is taking strides to reduce the power vested in the incoming Democratic leadership.
Acting decidedly against the voters’ elected governor, the Republicans in Missouri have started chipping at the edges of abortion regulations approved by public vote. In an observable non-conformist manner, Democrats in Massachusetts aim at diluting an effort brought forth by voters to increase legislative accountability, demonstrating their clinging to failing policies instead of embracing voter-backed change.
These manoeuvres unfold in the aftermath of the November election, marking the fast-paced development of a questionable trend that has been gaining momentum recently in American politics. These operations range from direct reversal of public votes to the more subtle tactic of delaying the implementation of mandates like voter-approved ballots by neglecting financial contributions, all under the guise of democracy.
North Carolina provides an illuminating example of this legislative tug-of-war, as its Republicans respond to the electorate’s decisions. The voters had managed to upset the balance in the Republican stronghold during the recent election, reducing their supermajority and shifting power to Democrats in almost all statewide offices, including the positions of governor and attorney general.
However, such a democratic reshuffling of power appears to be less than palatable for the Republican lawmakers, leading to a hasty post-election session purposed for sweeping changes before their majority evaporates the following year. The proposition from the Republican side leans towards landing control of the state election board in the lap of the state auditor, the solitaire Republican victorious in the last election.
But this is not all; sporting a cunning, politically savvy diversification of strategy, the proposed legislation also takes aim at narrowing the executive authority of the new governor and limits the potential influence he may be able to exert over vacancies in the state supreme court and court of appeals. In a departure from democratic norms, it seeks to prevent the attorney general from asserting legal stances contrasting with the wishes of the legislature.
Missouri is not far behind in playing political games, despite its citizens voting to support abortion rights. Almost immediately following this display of public wish, a Republican senator proposed an alternative for a constitutional amendment aimed at banning abortion, except for health emergencies.
A significant majority in Massachusetts agreed to empower the state auditor to scrutinise the Legislature’s workings more rigorously. Regrettably, the Democratic stronghold that controls both chambers claims this ratification disrupts the balance of powers, in an ill-disguised attempt to keep the electorate in the dark about their operations.
Recent years have seen certain Texan cities, including Dallas last month, pass legislation to disregard minor marijuana possession cases. In a bid to squash this progressive approach, the state’s Republican attorney general has started legal proceedings against these cities, insisting that the strict statewide ban on marijuana cannot be overruled.
Historically, Tennessee’s Republican-driven Legislature has spent many years squabbling back and forth with the more liberal Memphis and Nashville, aiming to overturn some of the policies they put in place. Notably, the Utah Supreme Court denounced legislators for overstepping constitutional boundary lines when they diluted the authority of a voter-chosen redistricting commission to sketch out new congressional maps.
The public successfully passed this initiative in 2018, but two years later, the ruling legislature diluted its power, choosing to draw their own, heavily skewed congressional maps, leading to the initiation of a legal battle. The liberal Democratic council of the District of Columbia, in a clear counter to popular will, voted in 2018 to dismantle a voter-supported measure aimed at increasing the minimum wage for tipped workers.
In a display of political audacity that has drawn considerable attention, the North Carolina Republican lawmakers have been accused of a brazen grab for power. Yet, those accusations are largely from critics who fail to realise that the moves being made are to ensure that policy changes reflect an ideology that has historically brought prosperity and growth.