Editorial: Illegal legislators can't enact legal laws

Monday, Aug. 22, 2022 -- It is not the fault of the courts or the voters that North Carolina doesn't have a legal constitutional amendment to mandate photo ID to cast a ballot. It is the failure of our legislature to properly conduct its business, to respect the courts and adhere to the laws of the land.

Posted 10:09 a.m. Aug 22, 2022 — Updated 10:25 a.m. Aug 22, 2022

CBC Editorial: Monday, Aug. 22, 2022; editorial # 8782

The following is the opinion of Capitol Broadcasting Company

Should legislators, improperly elected from judicially ruled illegal racially gerrymandered districts, be able to enact laws that perpetuate racial discrimination?

To most common-sense people -- even attorneys (such as state Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore) who learned the “fruit from the poisonous tree” concept in law school – the answer is an obvious “no.”

And that is why Friday’s 4-3 State Supreme Court ruling says legislators likely lacked legal authority in 2018 to claim to be representing anyone and thus couldn’t enact legislation to amend the State Constitution. In the case at hand – it is Constitutional Amendments requiring presentation of a photo ID to vote and barring any increase in the state’s income tax rate above 7%.

The Voter ID constitutional amendment was discussed in legislative committees and passed in less than two weeks. The income tax limit amendment languished in a state House committee for more than 15 months – then was moved onto the statewide ballot in fewer than two weeks.

Critical here is the fact that the legislature was conducting official business and passing laws even though it knew many of its members were not legally elected to represent their districts. Since the legislature didn’t act on its own to alleviate this flaw it was left to citizens – like those who have challenged the state’s Voter Id laws – to make sure actions of an illegally-constituted General Assembly were appropriately reviewed.

Who did the Republican minority on the state Supreme Court get to express its point of view – contending that the actions of the legislature should stand? The dissent was written by Justice Phil Berger Jr. It should not go without note the obvious – Berger’s father is the leader of the state Senate and a primary proponent of the Voter ID and tax-limit amendments. The reality is that without Berger Sr.’s support, those amendments would have never passed.

“Four Democratic justices have all but thrown out the legitimate votes of millions of North Carolinians in a brazen, partisan attempt to remove the voter ID requirement from our Constitution and deny the people the ability to amend their own Constitution,” said the statement issued by Berger’s office and attributed to Sen. Paul Newton, the Republican chair of the Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee.

Regardless of the desires and twisted legal logic of our legislature’s leaders, the General Assembly is not a power unto itself in North Carolina. Our State Constitution clearly sets out three co-equal branches of government.

It is the job of the courts to review and determine if the legislature’s actions accord with the State Constitution. When those actions fall short, it is the courts’ job to negate those actions and apply appropriate remedies with which legislators must comply.

That isn’t any infringement on anything. It is called the rule of law. That is what democracy is about in North Carolina and the United States.

It is not the fault of the courts or the voters that North Carolina doesn’t have a legal constitutional amendment to mandate photo ID to vote. It is the failure of our legislature to properly conduct its business, to respect the courts and adhere to the laws of the land.

If there’s to be such a requirement in the state Constitution, the legislature should legally, properly and openly present, debate and pass one on for the voters to consider.

Obey the law. It isn’t hard.