Voters in North Carolina will be asked this November whether or not the right to hunt, fish and harvest wildlife should be enshrined in their state’s constitution.

The ballot measure, which easily passed through the Republican-controlled state Senate in June in a 44-4 vote, has become an unexpectedly divisive issue in North Carolina. Supporters argue the amendment would protect certain hunting practices, but opponents claim it’s little more than a ploy to draw Republican voters to the polls.

If it passes in November, the measure would not change state hunting regulations or modify any existing provisions in state law.  But it would – particularly the language protecting “the right to use traditional methods, to hunt, fish and harvest wildlife” – help ward off any legal challenges to certain hunting methods and the hunting of…