“I do not usually speak in ‘always’ and ‘never’ terms, but these election bills when added together, will result in the loss of our freedom to vote.” Joe Fowler points out the dangers of Senate Bill 749 that NC Republicans are touting as a solution to a problem that doesn’t even exist.

While many of us have been watching various news channels, our local senators and representatives have been in Raleigh, at the taxpayers’ expense, playing tiddlywinks with our budget, that NC state employees and the uninsured depend on to survive. Republicans are holding the budget bill hostage to insure that their election corruption bills pass.

The Republicans have already succeeded in overriding several of the governor’s vetoes and are pushing several other election bills on a fast track that would give the Republicans in the General Assembly absolute power over your ability to cast a ballot and have it counted.

Senate Bill 749 will alter the NC State Board of Elections and each local County Board of Elections. It will effectively shift the balance of power in our current elections and give the Republican majority the ability to make all decisions of how local elections are conducted.

This bill, if passed, will not only do away with the integrity and fairness of our elections process, it will cancel out all the hard work that Republicans and Democrats have accomplished together.

I do not usually speak in “always” and “never” terms, but these election bills when added together, will result in the loss of our freedom to vote.

Joe Fowler