By Phil Jacobson, LPNC State Chair

Most NC voters will go to the polls this year, thinking that they will have an opportunity to choose who will represent them in the NC state legislature. But in over half of the NC House districts (53%) and almost half of the NC Senate districts (44%) the voters have been robbed of the ability to choose. In these districts the ballot will contain only one candidate. The North Carolina Board of Elections will throw away any attempt by voters to cast a write in vote against one of these privileged candidates. So voters will have absolutely no choice on their ballots, for these offices.

Half of the NC legislature is chosen before the voters even see their ballots. Who can decide to destroy our citizens power to choose in this way? It may come as no surprise to Libertarians that the laws which prevent most voters from voting to unseat members of the NC legislature were passed by --- the NC legislature itself. As recently as the 2006 session, the legislature voted to retain current ballot access law, even to make it slightly more burdensome, accepting the argument that loosening the requirements would lead to a "crowded" ballot. It should be no further surprise to Libertarians that almost all the pre-selected members of the legislature are incumbents.

Libertarians have been living with this up-hill, no-newcomers-welcome system of ballot access for years (since the early 1980's). We are disgusted, but not surprised. But most voters have not been trying to get a "new" party (or even a truly new party) on the ballot, and will be completely unaware of how little choice our citizens are given in choosing who sets the rules which are supposed to give citizens some choice. As individuals, the disenfranchised voters will be disappointed that they have no alternatives for particular races, but will tend to believe that their case is an odd one.

Most citizens of this state do not and will not realize that over half the ballots in the coming election contain no choices for representation in either the State House or the State Senate. You might think that this story would be interesting enough to warrant some coverage by the media. But that doesn't happen to any significant degree. Those of us who want the story told will need to find ways to spread the story through other channels, if only by word of mouth.

For the 2004 election, one of our own LP members, Seth Anthony (who has since left the state), prepared a map which showed the districts where voters had no choices for the NC legislature. A copy of this map was put into the booths at the State Fair and Dixie Classic Fair this year. I found it very useful in educating people who stopped by. Petition signatures were easier to get when people realized how little choice was being offered. But the map was small and out of date. Inspired by Seth, and with great assistance from another citizen who prefers not to be named, I have prepared two versions of Seth's map for unopposed races in the State House and State Senate. These maps will be suitable for you to print out on a letter-sized sheet.

I urge you to download a copy of each map, print it out, and use it to educate people about the legislature that won't let itself be voted out of office. But in any case, remember the story when you talk to people about the need for ballot access reform in North Carolina. In my view, it is the most powerful argument we have for ballot access reform.

Again: Over half of the candidates for the NC Legislature, most of them incumbents, will have no opponent on this year's ballot. Yet as recently as this Summer they voted to keep the current burdens on "new" parties in place, arguing that the ballot should not become "crowded".

For these "lucky" legislators, it's not an election, but merely a coronation. We need to spread the word.

View unopposed NC House races
View unopposed NC Senate races