North Carolina state legislators who switch party registrations midterm may be subject to early elections to retain the seat, according to a bill introduced Tuesday by Senate Democrats in response to Rep. Tricia Cotham to the GOP two months ago.

The measure would be prospective and would not apply to Cotham, whose move gave Republicans a veto-proof majority in both chambers of the General Assembly. It probably won’t gain traction in the GOP-controlled legislature. Her changed allegiances helped Republicans pass new abortion restrictions when they were able to override Democratic government. Roy Cooper’s party-line veto.

Her change angered Democrats both in Raleigh, the state capital, and in her Mecklenburg County district, where she won as a Democrat last fall, winning by more than 18 percentage points. Critics say those who voted for her are being deprived of representation. Speakers at a press conference on the bill on Tuesday included Cotham voters.

below

the measure

says that

, when an elected or appointed member of the General Assembly switches party registration with more than six months to go, the seat is declared vacant. The special election to complete the two-year term would be held within 90 days. The bill would also force a party changer to refund recent campaign donations if a donor requests it.

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You can’t completely switch teams, put on the other jersey and start scoring goals for the other team and have no recourse against the voters, Sen. Natasha Marcus, a Mecklenburg County Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill, told me. So it’s about time we made this change.

As elsewhere, party changes are uncommon in North Carolina. Rep. Bill Brisson of Duplin County switched from Democrats to Republicans in 2017.

Another bill sponsor, Guilford County Senator Michael Garrett, said he didn’t expect the measure to be passed any time soon because it was a little too close to the Mecklenburg County incident. But he said the proposal is good governance. It’s about rebuilding voter confidence.

The bill does not identify Cotham by name, but the preamble referred to specific details about Cotham’s race last November by listing the exact number of votes cast in her election.