The N.C. House of Representatives was expected to give final approval to legislation today that calls for a statewide vote in November on a constitutional amendment barring convicted felons from running for sheriff in North Carolina.

Approved last week in the N.C. Senate by a 46-1 vote, after House approval the bill will go to Gov. Beverly Perdue’s desk where she’s also expected to sign it, setting up the Nov. 2 constitutional amendment referendum.

If all goes as expected, Tarheel voters will see on the ballot:

“[ ] For [ ] Against

Constitutional amendment providing that no person convicted of a felony may serve as Sheriff.”

Earlier this year, we said this legislation, House Bill 1307, was all about former Davidson County Sheriff Gerald Hege. When we wrote that last spring, the former sheriff and convicted felon was poised to run in the May Republican primary for sheriff in Davidson County.

But no, we were told, this wasn’t about just Hege because a handful of other convicted felons across North Carolina were running for sheriff’s posts. It was about the notion that any convicted felon should be barred from seeking a sheriff’s post.

OK, we’ll concede that point; maybe Sen. Stan Bingham, R-Davidson, and House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman, D-Davidson, both strong backers of the bill, and a host of others weren’t out just to derail Hege’s re-election chances or his ability to serve if he won the primary and general election.

But Hege’s bid for re-election surely was derailed – by the voters of Davidson County. In virtually a three-candidate race, current Sheriff David Grice handily won the primary, whipping Hege by a 61 percent to 25 percent total. And in that handful of other sheriff’s races around the state featuring felons, the voters said no to the felons there, too.

Give the voters in Davidson County and in those other areas across the state credit for letting their preferences be known, which in these cases were not the felons. So why does the Legislature even need to approve such a bill calling for this referendum? Let the voters in each county around the state decide whom they want to be their sheriff – felon or no felon. We don’t place such prohibitions on other offices.

But since we’re apparently going to have a referendum Nov. 2, let us go ahead and mark our ballot now:

[X] Against