October 31, 2025
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Deep Something

The site for ranting and reporting by John Masters

Election 

Thoughts On Amendment 2

B. John 274 Views

Amendment 2 changes the way citizen initiatives work and requires citizen initiative petitions to be submitted earlier–indeed, before the Legislature convenes for the year. This raises three main concerns:

  • It’ll be harder to get an initiative on the ballot because there’s less time to muster support (and because most people tend not to think much about state politics for the few months after an election). This will clearly make it harder for grassroots iniatives, but easier for those funded by powerful PACs and lobbies.
  • Because the petition must be filed before the legislative session, there’s no way to quickly reverse the Legislature’s malfeasance or nonfeasance, which could mean two years of suffering.
  • It doesn’t pass the general “smell test” because the amendment doesn’t apply to amendments proposed by the Legislature. (What happened to “inherent in the people”?)

So I would recommend a NO vote on Proposed Amendment 2.

B. John

B. John Masters writes about democracy, moral responsibility, and everyday Stoicism at deep.mastersfamily.org. A lifelong United Methodist committed to social justice, he explores how faith, ethics, and civic life intersect—and how ordinary people can live out justice, mercy, and truth in public life. A records and information management expert, Masters has lived in the Piedmont,NC, Dayton, OH, Greensboro, NC and Tampa, FL, and is a proud Appalachian State Alum.