A Democratic majority in the North Carolina General Assembly would prioritize passing comprehensive anti-corruption reforms in January
Only six seats are needed to flip the NC House of Representatives and five to flip the state Senate
Twenty-one Democratic North Carolina legislative challenger candidates today sent a letter to the North Carolina General Assembly calling for the passage of major democracy reforms if Democrats take the majority. These candidates, who commended their sitting Democratic colleagues for proposing bold good-government initiatives, are sending an historic message to voters and to the establishment in Raleigh that they are committed to passing these reforms and unrigging the broken system so that North Carolina’s government is responsive to the people and not beholden to big donors and corporate special interests.
Key elements of the letter include: ending partisan gerrymandering, increasing transparency; strengthening laws to restrict corporations and lobbyists from influencing politicians; restoring and strengthening the 2002 Judicial Campaign Reform Act; increasing voter participation; and removing discriminatory barriers preventing North Carolinians from their right to vote.
You can read the full text of the letter here.
The full list of candidates who signed the letter includes: Terri LeGrand (SD-31), Brian Caskey (SD-48), Dr. Frances Jackson (HD-45), Jason Cain (HD-51), Nicole Quick (HD-59), Ricky Hurtado (HD-63), Tess Judge (SD-01), Dr. Donna Lake (SD-07), Allen Wellons (SD-11), Sarah Crawford (SD-18), JD Wooten (SD-24), Helen Probst Mills (SD-25), Dorothea White (HD-03), Chris Schulte (HD-04), Brian Farkas (HD-09), Debbi Fintak (HD-16), Marcia Morgan (HD-19), Adam Ericson (HD-20), Lowell Simon (HD-52), Terry Brown (HD-92) and Ed Hallyburton (HD-112).
“These twenty-one reformers are leading the fight to end the corrupting influence of Big Money in Raleigh and protect North Carolinians’ right to vote,” said Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United and Let America Vote. “For years, the North Carolina Republican Party has followed orders from corporate donors and carried out orchestrated attacks to disenfranchise voters, especially communities of color. A Democratic majority in the General Assembly would fight back against these discriminatory measures to restore integrity back to the legislature and put both chambers back to work for North Carolina families. We applaud these candidates’ efforts to combat corruption and repair democracy in the Old North State.”
ECU and LAV merged in January to combat the two biggest challenges facing our democracy: Big Money and voter suppression. Its affiliated project, Fight for Reform (FFR), focuses on bringing transparency and accountability to state and local elections around the country. In July, FFR launched a new grassroots field operation in North Carolina to elect endorsed candidates, provide volunteers and organizational support for those candidates, and work with in-state partners to make voting safe, accessible and fair.
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