Readers sound off on the proposed constitutional amendments

I would like to apologize to all North Carolinians who have been or may become victims of crimes, because I and many others are compelled to vote against the victims’ rights amendment. As a citizen I cannot support ANY amendment to the state constitution that contains this or a similar clause: “The General Assembly may prescribe general laws to further define and implement this section.”

The purpose of the state constitution is to identify the things that cannot be changed by legislative or executive ruling.

For the same reason, my apology to supporters of the right to hunt and fish amendment, the voter ID amendment and the amendment to control ethics and election board appointments. All of which contain a similar clause.

My message to the members of the General Assembly: your good intentions were poorly communicated. The people of North Carolina deserve better from you.

F Teresa Smith

Raleigh

Hunter-led conservation

Hunters and anglers have long been the foundation of conservation. Through the duck stamp, Wildlife Restoration Act, and Ducks Unlimited (DU), funding conservation has been embraced by those who love and enjoy the pursuit of nature. There is no guarantee this model will endure. North Carolina DU is pleased our state is drawing attention to the role hunting and fishing play in conserving nature.

Conservation, hunting, and fishing strengthen our communities and quality of life. Hunting, angling, and trapping support over 35,000 jobs in the state and contribute over $2.3 billion to its economy. In 2017, sportsmen and women contributed over $56 million to conservation funding in North Carolina through the purchase of hunting and fishing licenses and related equipment. DU and partners have conserved over 130,000 acres of habitat in North Carolina and over 14 million acres across North America.

On behalf of 30,000 North Carolina Ducks Unlimited members, I support the effort to acknowledge and protect our hunting and fishing traditions. As a hunter, angler, and North Carolinian, I ask you to vote YES for the Hunting and Fishing Constitutional Amendment.

Henry Kidd

Raleigh

Necessary Flexibility

We North Carolinians will vote on a constitutional amendment to cap the permissible state income tax rate at 7 percent. This is a bad idea.

The state government has important responsibilities to provide quality health, education and public safety services. Those costs rise during a recession. The state government is then faced with falling revenues and rising expenditures. Adjusting the income tax rate is an important tool in the state legislature’s policy arsenal in that case, preferred to raising the sales tax rate or sacrificing quality services.

Patrick Conway

Chapel Hill

Untrustworthy results

When my wife and I voted on Oct. 25 at the Kill Devil Hills precinct, our Dare County Voter Registration Cards were not accepted as personal identification, nor was a driver’s license or any other form of personal identification allowed. We were requested to verbally state our names, address, and date of birth which was heard by nearly everyone in the room. We considered this an invasion of privacy. This incident was reported to the Dare County Director of Elections Michele Barnes. We were told the Voter Registration Cards are still valid and are still being issued to newly registered voters.

In this day and age of the internet, anyone (non-resident, felons, illegal immigrants) can readily access this information and use our names to vote in Dare County and probably throughout the state of North Carolina. We have no faith in election results in North Carolina because of the real possibility of voter fraud. North Carolina is living in the dark ages with regard to current voting laws. We support the voter ID amendment now on the ballot to prevent voter fraud.

Richard and Carolyn Duregger

Kitty Hawk

Fraud against voters

The proposed constitutional amendment requiring a photo ID to prevent voter fraud sounds harmless until you read it. If passed, it allows the General Assembly to decide later what ID will be required. It is possible that many who have voted for years, especially the poor and the elderly, will have difficulty acquiring what the General Assembly has not yet revealed.

This amendment is purposely vague; however other actions by the General Assembly have already shown that some lawmakers intend to decrease voter participation in government.

The legislators have not allowed polls to open on days most easily accessible to many, including African-Americans. Legislators have gerrymandered districts so carefully that candidates run unopposed, denying voters a choice. When courts found certain districts unconstitutional, legislators spent hundreds of thousands of tax dollars on appeal after appeal so that remedies for the unconstitutional districts could not be finished before this November election.

This amendment is not written to prevent fraud by voters. This amendment is fraud against voters – the real voter fraud.

Mary Jane Marshbanks

Buies Creek

Republican letdown

I am a registered Republican, as were my parents and grandparents, thus I feel entitled to make these comments about the deplorable state of politics in North Carolina. The elected House and Senate Republicans have become nothing more than commanded drones.

I am disgusted with the power-brokers in Raleigh controlling everything with an iron fist. The elected representatives are showing up and doing as they are told and none have shown any backbone at all. They just want to get re-elected thus they won’t rock the boat. Why even have them if they aren’t doing anything. The handful of so-called leaders in the NC Legislature are pushing their agenda, which seems to be nothing more than extreme conservatism mixed with massive power-grabs intended to consolidate their own power and re-elections.

The absurd constitutional amendments are a prime example of the manipulation of the election system. It’s disgusting behavior, which I cannot support. I urge all NC voters to reject this legislature and elect representatives who are not so party-blind and who will not meekly acquiesce.

Steve Hopper

Efland

This story was originally published November 4, 2018 at 3:00 AM.