I believe it is a good idea to allow the citizens of Delaware to have final approval of any amendments to the state’s constitution. But, rather than replace a second passage by the legislature with a statewide referendum, citizen approval should be required in addition to the existing multiyear legislative approval requirement.
Currently, any proposed amendment must also pass a second time, with a two-thirds supermajority in both houses in the legislative session after the next general election. In essence, if a radical, unwise or unpopular amendment passes this year, the voters have a chance to replace those representatives with new members who will better represent their will before a second vote is taken on any proposed amendment in the subsequent legislative session. This is an extremely important safeguard that would be removed under House Bill 440, a proposal by Rep. Kerri Evelyn Harris, D-Dover.
Further, if we are truly concerned about the will of the people in the entire state of Delaware, the bill should be modified to require passage by the voters in each of the three counties separately, not a simple 55% majority in a total statewide tally. The voices of the people in Kent and Sussex counties really won’t matter under the modifications proposed by Rep. Harris. All that is needed for passage is the support of most of the voters in New Castle County to satisfy the 55% requirement. If passage required majority approval in each of the counties separately, this would prevent a single political party from running roughshod over the will of the people south of the canal. In its current form, I believe HB 440 is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” that removes an important constitutional safeguard and will ultimately allow the Democratic Party to rule the state of Delaware with an iron fist.
John Schenck
Dover
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
