News from the Friends Committee on North Carolina Legislation (FCNCL)
Protecting Participation in the Democratic Process for All: Moore v. Harper and the “Independent State Legislature Theory”
The Policy Committee has developed a fact sheet about the Moore v. Harper case being argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court starting December 7. This has important implications far beyond North Carolina.
The legislators will make the argument that an interpretation of the U.S. Constitution — known as the “independent state legislature theory” — renders the state courts and state constitution powerless in matters relating to federal elections. The question will be whether the NC Supreme Court has the power to strike down the NC legislature’s congressional map for violating the NC Constitution.
Medicaid Expansion Alert by Pamela Schwingl. URGENT! Are you living in a rural area of the state, or in a legislative district that includes a significant number of rural individuals? Or do you know someone who does who may be interested in helping out a broad-based statewide coalition to pass Medicaid expansion? If so, please read and respond!
“The most important thing we can do right now is to let NC House members know that the situation is urgent and they need to act! The voices of constituents impacted every day that Medicaid expansion hasn’t passed are the most powerful way to influence legislators. Many of those voices are those of rural people across North Carolina”…..Nick Wood, Staffer for Down Home NC.
To heed this call, FCNCL is partnering with Down Home NC and several other organizations to make a push on Medicaid Expansion to members of the NC House between November 15 and December 15. The effort is named “Rural Voices for Medicaid Expansion.”
Together with Down Home, FCNCL is asking our members living in such areas to step up and 1) participate in a training on contacting legislators about medicaid expansion; 2) be willing to call legislators and/or write letters to them, and 3) when the time is right, participate in a zoom call with their legislator coordinated by Down Home NC.
Down Home does the work of setting up meetings with legislators, and at the scheduled meeting time, a Down Home staffer will bring a laptop into the legislative office, so that a zoom meeting can be held right there with identified/trained participants from the legislator’s district.
So, please let us know as soon as possible if you or someone you know is willing to get involved!!! Please email Pam Schwingl at pschwingl82@gmail.com if you are willing.
Spring Lobby Day! Join Friends from across North Carolina for an in-person lobby day in March 2023. We’ll gather for a day of training and building relationships with our legislatures. The timing is perfect as the General Assembly begins its two-year session for us to bring our legislative priorities and values to Raleigh!
Date TBD and more information to come. Carpooling and lodging possibilities are being considered for Friends coming from outside the triangle area. Please let Friends in your meetings know to look for more information! Questions? Comments, reach out to: info@fcncl.org.
Reflections on the Election by Tim Lindeman. Although there are still a couple of elections that are undecided, it is not too early to consider what the elections mean nationally and in our own state. What will the results mean to us who are active in FCNCL?
Let’s start by looking at the nation. Although voter turnout was not as large as the 2018 mid-term elections, it was higher than any of the other mid-term elections in the 21st century. I think it is important to note that many states had record turnouts including several with close races. Nine states had more than 55% of eligible voter participation; NC’s rate was 40-45. My wife and I both worked during early voting, and we can report that where we each of us worked, the voting ran smoothly and almost all people were civil and even friendly.
The Democrats will still control the Senate, and although the Republicans will win a majority in the House, the number of wins is much smaller than anticipated. Finally, most national candidates who were “election deniers,” especially those supported by former President Trump, lost.
I believe the take-away from this is that people across the country still believe in and trust the “system.” Democracy proved to be something worth going to the polls for. Americans, both Democrats and Republicans, turned out because they believed that voting still counted and was the best way to effect change in the US (and NC).
In North Carolina, the election was not so rosy. Ted Budd beat Cheri Beasley for the Senate by 3 percentage points, and 7 seats were won by both the Republicans and the Democrats in the US House. Although the Republicans gained 6 seats in the NC Senate and 18 in the NC House, Governor Cooper will still maintain veto powers. The Supreme Court flipped from a 4-3 Democrat majority to a 5-2 Republican majority. Local elections such as city councils and school boards are much harder to generalize about.
At FCNCL, we will continue to urge our state legislators to support our principles. We have seen that most people in the nation care passionately about women’s reproductive rights, and here in the state, we are starting to see some hope for expanding Medicaid. We will continue to support the legislative priorities discerned this year: Equal Access to Quality Public Education, Protecting Participation in the Democratic Process for All, Concern for the Health and Safety of All North Carolina Residents, Protecting the Environment, and Criminal Justice Reform.
Annual Meeting Review by Deborah Britton. The 2022 Annual Meeting of the FCNCL General Committee was held via Zoom on October 8, 2022, with 32 members attending. The meeting approved the Nominating Committee recommendations for membership and clerkship of the Executive, Policy, Communication, and Strategic Advocacy & Engagement committees. The new Presiding Clerk, Tim Lindeman, was welcomed, and a Minute of Appreciation was extended to outgoing Presiding Clerk Vernie Davis.
The Year in Review was presented, with the following highlights: The process for discernment arriving at the FCNCL legislative policy priorities for the 2022-24 legislative sessions was described, and five priorities were approved. See the link below.
Nine Action Alerts were issued in 2021/22, along with a letter to Governor Cooper thanking him for support of Medicaid expansion. FCNCL posted public comments on redistricting, poll observers, and climate policies.
Antiracism work was continued and expanded. Three opportunities were identified: continue persistence in using the Queries and Minute, support BIPOC businesses, and find and include more BIPOC voices.
Members received an in-depth illustration of the structure of the NC legislature and how
FCNCL translates policy priorities into action, using the progress made on Medicaid expansion as the example.
Protecting Democracy in North Carolina was the topic of a very informative presentation by Rob Schofield, Director of NC Policy Watch. Mr. Schofield gave a compelling and wide-ranging accounting of issues in the health, economic, social, and political arenas that are of present concern. He concluded with optimism, however, noting that he’s become acquainted in his long career with the rapidity of change and the constant influence of people’s desire for connection and the breakdown of divisions. He sees young people with brilliance and resolve becoming involved, and sees determination in people like members of FCNCL who share a profound concern with the future of the planet and democracy and who feel they have no option but to remain engaged.
His presentation was followed by small-group discussions on the question: In what ways can FCNCL act to protect NC democracy? Responses included:
New FCNCL Policies.The 2023 FCNCL Policies have been approved by the General Committee. Click here to see the policies that we will focus on in the upcoming legislative session.
Invitation to join us. We have 25 General Committee members from 13 Meetings and Piedmont Friends. We encourage Yearly Meetings, Monthly Meetings, and other Quaker organizations in NC to name up three representatives to our General Committee. We also invite anyone with special interests and expertise on any of our policy priorities to team with us to craft Action Alerts; direct friends to our website to grow our membership; and most importantly — respond to our Alerts and build relationships with your representatives! If interested, ask any of us (or email us info@fcncl.org) how to get more involved.
From the FCNCL Nominating Committee. FCNCL is governed by a General Committee consisting of representatives from participating meetings. Our work is coordinated by several committees (see https://fcncl.wordpress.com/organization/). We are always looking for Friends with the time and energy to join us in this important work. If you would like to join a committee, contact one of the co-clerks of the Nominating Committee.
Marian Beane — marian.beane@gmail.com
Dorothy Mason — hmason@triad.rr.com
Visit Our Website – fcncl.org. Our website contains much valuable information including our announcements, current and archived Action Alerts, newsletters, our Racial Justice/Antiracism Statement and much more. Learn more about the organization and sign up for action alerts at the FCNCL website.
Gratitude. We would like to give a shout out of thanks to the Monthly Meetings, Yearly Meetings, and individuals who contributed financially to FCNCL and to all the volunteers and participants that made this such a successful year for FCNCL. Our budget is small but necessary and your gifts of time and money make it all possible.