RESOLUTION TO ELIMINATE VOTER SUPPRESSION

WHEREAS, there were no reported incidences of widespread fraud in the general election in 2020 in North Carolina and modifications due to COVID such as only requiring one witness signature and expanding the early voting period made absentee voting easier; 

WHEREAS, North Carolina has a long history of voter suppression and has more recently proposed legislation in 2013 that would have eliminated and modified a significant number of voting rights; 

WHEREAS, North Carolina has recently been found by the courts to have engaged in illegal gerrymandering that limits access to voting on a racial and partisan basis and gerrymandering is a form of voter suppression; 

WHEREAS, recent legislation requiring photo ID’s in North Carolina is a barrier to voting has been contested and a federal lawsuit has been brought by the NAACP; 

WHEREAS, North Carolina has an effective State Board of Elections and County Boards of Election that work to make voting more convenient and provide extensive voter education to the public; 

WHEREAS, there is heightened urgency in 2021 to reform redistricting due to the use of the new census to draw congressional districts that will impact voters for the next 10 years; 

WHEREAS, the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the section of the U.S. Voting Rights Act of 1965 that provided federal oversight of State’s voting policies and has taken up other voting rights cases that could result in additional voting rights being eliminated; 

WHEREAS, the Electoral College system is archaic and was developed at a very different time in the U.S. and which has the potential to discount the popular vote for President. 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED to fully fund North Carolina Boards of Election to carry out their important function in non-partisan voter access; 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED to support automated universal voter registration at age 18; 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED to maintain the right to vote by absentee ballot for any reason and accept all ballots postmarked by election day and received by the scheduled county board of elections canvass date; 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED to support the right to vote during the early voting period and oppose any reductions in the voting period as well as oppose any reductions in the number of polling places, use of drop-boxes and voting on weekends;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED to oppose photo ID laws and provide support to the NAACP in the federal suit opposing photo ID’s; 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED to amend the current policy for previously incarcerated persons to restore voting rights immediately after release instead of the current policy that restores voting rights only after completion of their probation and parole; 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED to eliminate partisan gerrymandering through establishment of a North Carolina Independent Redistricting Commission to draw districts that reflect the requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment; 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that North Carolina should work with national partners to support the federal “For the People Act of 2021” which will place many voting rights in federal legislation and provide oversight of States’ actions concerning restrictions of voter rights; 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that North Carolina should join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) which is designed to prohibit the Electoral College from overturning the popular vote; 

FINALLY, BE IT RESOLVED that the Spencer Precinct of the Rowan County Democratic Party approve and adopt this resolution in support of efforts to eliminate voter suppression in North Carolina. 

Read, approved and adopted this the 24th day of March, 2021, by the Spencer Precinct of the Rowan County Democratic Party. 

Read, approved and adopted this the 10th day of April, 2021, by the Rowan County Democratic Party at the Annual County Convention.