Larry McDevitt and Lou Bissette

GUEST COLUMNISTS

We are lifelong Republicans who have been active in the affairs of our hometown, this region, our state, and the legal profession.

We regret that we must respectfully oppose two of the six proposed constitutional amendments our colleagues in the General Assembly have placed on the current ballot. These Amendments alter bedrock principles of our Constitution. Thus, your votes on them may be some of the most important you will ever cast.

We strongly urge you to vote against both

a) The longest Amendment dealing with filling judicial vacancies and

b) A shorter Amendment dealing with a Board of Ethics and Elections.

These two Amendments are unnumbered, but are located at, or near, the end of the of the list of six amendments. The longer Amendment is usually listed just ahead of, or beside, the shorter one.

Our North Carolina Constitution allocates the power of government among the executive, judicial, and legislative branches. This allocation is known as the Separation of Powers. Its purpose is to prevent one branch of government from getting too powerful. It also provides safeguards, known as checks and balances, 1) To stop—or check—any branch from getting too much power, and 2) to even out—or balance—each branch’s power so that it can carry out its duties under the law to protect us and preserve our liberty.

These two amendments, if passed, will erode that cherished separation of powers and overturn the checks and balances that are the ultimate safeguards preventing any branch of government—in this case North Carolina’s general assembly—from acquiring too much power over the other branches.

For instance, the long amendment takes away the Governor’s power to appoint judges to judicial vacancies and effectively shifts that power to the General Assembly. This change to our Constitution would also extend the terms of those hand-picked judges for up to four years.

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In the last two years the Courts have ruled three times that laws passed by the General Assembly violated the separation of powers doctrine and were therefore unconstitutional. More recently, the courts threw out the ballot description of both Amendments because the language was misleading. It’s understandable that many in the General Assembly may be frustrated that their laws have been ruled unconstitutional. But changing the Constitution so that the General Assembly can pick judges more to its liking is unsound and not in the best interests of our State or its people.

The General Assembly already sets the salaries of the judges. It does not need to have the power to appoint judges as well. Our Legislature was intentionally excluded from this process by the founding fathers as a means to keep the fox out of the hen house.

In a like manner, the shorter amendment regarding the Board of Elections reduces the number of board members from nine to eight taking away the power of the Governor to appoint a ninth unaffiliated citizen to the Board. This guarantees that the General Assembly can always force a tie vote on anything it doesn’t like since it can appoint half the board. This new power could block any action by the very board charged with protecting your voting rights. That power shifts to the General Assembly under this amendment. Your voting rights are at risk if this amendment passes.

More:On the ballot: Should the NC Constitution require a photo ID to vote?

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Our opposition is not grounded in partisan politics. Our views are based solely on the desire to protect our freedoms guaranteed by the North Carolina Constitution, regardless of which political party controls the General Assembly. These two amendments are clearly destructive to the separation of powers principle which keeps power from being concentrated in any one branch of State government. That should matter to all North Carolinians—regardless of their political affiliations.

We are not alone in our views. All five former North Carolina Governors, including both Republicans and Democrats, also oppose these two Amendments. In addition, all six former Chief Justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court and all three Former Chief Judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, again including both Republicans and Democrats, are united in opposing these two Amendments.

Vote however you choose on the other four proposed Amendments. Please vote against the two we have discussed above. The functions of our government and the freedoms our constitution were designed to protect are at stake.

Larry McDevitt served as Asheville's mayor from 1983 - 1985. Lou Bissette served as mayor from 1985 - 1989. Both are attorneys who live in Asheville.