Today, we need your help to push for electoral reform in North Carolina.  There are three bills in particular which I would like to draw to your attention.  It would be very helpful if you would write or call your representatives to support these!

 

First, House Bill 794: The Voter Freedom Act of 2013.  This bill dramatically lowers the ballot access barrier for new political parties and unaffiliated candidates.  Currently NC is one of the most difficult states to qualify for the ballot.  This bill would reduce the required number of signatures from nearly 90,000 to around 12,000, among other things.  Please check out the press release from Free the Vote North Carolina.  This bill has been endorsed by the Libertarian Party of North Carolina.

 

Second, Senate Bill 82: Eliminate Straight Ticket voting.  Straight ticket voting allows one to check a box at the beginning of their ballot to vote for every candidate of that party down the ballot.  Many people don’t realize that if their party doesn’t have a candidate in a race, they essentially abstain from that race.  Straight ticket voting encourages uneducated voting and tends to unduly benefit the Democrats and Republicans.

 

And third, House Bill 606: Nonpartisan Redistricting Process.  This bill would put the nonpartisan Legislative Services Office in charge of redistricting every decade, rather than the party in control of the General Assembly.  It would restrict them from using political party registration, previous election results, and incumbents’ addresses when drawing the maps.  In the last election, nearly half of all North Carolina House of Representative seats went unchallenged because of how badly gerrymandered our districts are.

 

Please write to your representatives, or better yet, call them, to tell them to support these bills.  Passage of all three of these bills will lead to a more fair and just electoral process here in North Carolina.  You can find who your representatives are by entering your address on the maps on this page:

 

For an example letter, see below.

 

Dear ___,

 

My name is _____, and I live in ____ in your district.  I am writing you today to voice my support for improving the electoral process in North Carolina by reducing ballot access requirements, ending straight ticket voting, and reforming the redistricting process.  I hope you will recognize how important it is that North Carolina has free and fair elections unsullied by politics.  Please consider lending your support to House Bill 794 (Free the Vote Act of 2013) to lower the barrier for ballot access for third parties and unaffiliated candidates, Senate Bill 82 to eliminate straight ticket voting and House Bill 606 to create a nonpartisan redistricting process.  If a companion bill has not been introduce to your chamber, please consider doing so.

 

Thanks

______

 

 

 

Thank you for your continued support,

Jason Melehani

 

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Jason Melehani