Shortly after last year’s election, Andrew Reynolds made a startling assertion. The University of North Carolina political scientist, who had helped devise a formula for measuring the vitality of democracies, wrote a newspaper column claiming his state’s restrictions on voting and its unwillingness to follow established rules “means our state government can no longer be classified as a full democracy.”
Reynolds’ column was widely shared and reprinted by several national outlets, mostly but not exclusively liberal. He received some pushback. But the North Carolina legislature seems to be on a mission to prove him right. …
North Carolina may be ground zero in terms of legislative assaults on other branches and institutional norms, but it’s not unique. All around the country, longstanding norms of political fair play are being tossed aside. CONT.
Alan Greenblatt, Governing