Charlotte Observer (Editorial): This July 4th, we face a new struggle for democracy

In December of 2016, Andrew Reynolds, then a University of North Carolina politics professor, caused a stir with his op-ed in The News & Observer headlined: “North Carolina is no longer classified as a democracy.”

Citing international measures of democratic vitality, Reynolds said North Carolina was failing in how it drew its election districts and in how state lawmakers tried to limit access to the vote and exploited a slight advantage in statewide votes to wield autocratic power. …

Five years later, that verdict still stings, maybe even more so. For as the nation celebrates the gaining of its independence, there are rising worries that it is losing its democracy. …

In North Carolina, a Democratic governor can successfully veto Republican bills that unnecessarily restrict voting or add partisanship to election supervision. Voting rights groups led by Common Cause have won a landmark court battle to make partisan gerrymandering illegal in North Carolina.

Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause North Carolina, said of those who would hinder democracy to hold onto their power, “There’s going to be a ferocious battle if they try anything that is going to damage the integrity of elections or make voting harder.”

In that prediction is the enduring meaning of Independence Day. It is not only about a war for democratic freedom fought and won, but a reminder that once attained that victory must be sustained with fresh resolve by every generation of Americans.