Voters headed to the polls this year will notice a change in North Carolina’s election process. For the first time, a form of government identification will be required before casting ballots.
The law is controversial and subject to change, pending a court ruling. Chris Thomas has more on Voter ID.
North Carolina’s Voter ID law went into effect this year, with the March 15 primary as its first election.
The law requires would-be voters to show one of six approved forms of government issued ID before casting a ballot. A valid driver’s license, a state issued ID card for non-drivers, or certain tribal enrollment cards will be accepted.
Josh Lawson is spokesperson for the North Carolina Board of Elections. He says there are several exceptions, as there are with most laws.
“They can vote by absentee, and there’s no photo ID requirement there. You can also show up to the polls and there are various options that poll workers can walk you through.”
The broadest exception to the mandatory identification law is “reasonable impediment.”
Circumstances including family obligations, work schedules, and transportation difficulties are sheltered under that clause.
To qualify for that exception and cast a provisional ballot, a voter will have to sign a document explaining their impediment, give their birth date, and an additional form of identification – including a voter registration card, or a document with their name and address, like a bank statement.
But the big message is ‘show up.’ Regardless of what you think about the new laws that are in effect…we want you to be part of the Democratic process and as a non-partisan agency, we just want to get people to the polls.”
The bill overhauling voting laws in North Carolina was passed in the summer of 2013. That was just after the Supreme Court struck Article 4 of the Voting Rights Act from the records.
That law required certain areas of the country with a history of voter discrimination based on race to get approval from the federal government before new voting laws are enacted.
One of those areas is eastern North Carolina, which has a mixed history that includes sending black representatives to congress – when other parts of the states did not – and violent, racially motivated demonstrations to keep black voters away from the polls and public life as a whole.
Advocates for the law say it’s in place to prevent incidents of voter fraud, preserving a cornerstone of the American democracy.
Republican Michael Speciale, who represents Beaufort, Craven, and Pamlico Counties in the General Assembly, is one of those advocates.
“I just felt we needed to prove who we are, because the right to vote is one of the most sacred rights we have as American citizens, and we need to prove that we are who we say we are.
On the other hand, critics say it’s addressing a virtually non-existent problem, as initial reports of voter fraud in the 2012 election were found, mostly, lacking in substance.
In 2014, it was reported that 765 people voted in North Carolina in 2012 that had the same name, birthday, and last four digits of their social security number, as an individual who voted in another state that year.
But, a study done by fact checking website PunditFact, showed those numbers, may not be what they seem and may be due to several other reason not related to voter fraud, including clerical errors.
This raises questions from the law’s critics, including Jen Jones of Democracy NC, about the law’s validity and motivations.
“And really, court rulings negating that original legislation, and making many people wonder – ‘well, why do we need it in the first place?’”
Still, most Voter ID law supporters say Article 4 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional and outdated.
Furthermore, the law puts a broad variety of exceptions in place, addressing some of the key complaints raised about Voter ID laws – namely, that they disproportionately affect economically disadvantaged citizens who may not be able to afford an accepted form of identification or drive to agency buildings that distribute those forms of identification.
“And I think most people accept the Voter ID. I think it was a good idea, I think most people believe it’s a good idea, and I don’t see that there’s any problems with it, other than from those who would oppose anything we do as a Republican General Assembly.”
Detractors, including organizers of the Moral Monday marches in Raleigh, say Voter ID laws passed in North Carolina and other states around the nation, are a reminder that the days of legally sanctioned disenfranchisement aren’t too far behind and may be poised for a comeback.
Accusations have been made that the law’s true intent is maintaining a partisan edge at the expense of certain socio-economic groups who tend to vote Democrat – namely black, Latino, and young voters.
It’s also been said that the provisions, put in place to stave off worries of disenfranchisement, may have the complete opposite effect, sowing seeds of confusion among voters, allowing half-truths and full lies to circulate.
“That acts as a deterrent, and that misinformation and those myths about what you can and cannot do, I imagine will keep people home.”
Like a number of other matters surrounding the 2016 election in North Carolina, the voter ID requirement issue is far from settled. A trial over the ID law ended February 1 and the decision is now in the hands of U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder.
A verdict has not been reached, but it’s almost guaranteed an appeal will be made, regardless of the result.*
The full law won’t even be in effect this year since same-day voting registration is still in place for those who missed the initial, Feb. 19 registration deadline. That’s available at early voting sites until the last day of early voting on March 12.
Election Day for the first round of primaries is March 15.
That, as you’ve probably, already guessed, is also subject to litigation.