The Fayetteville Observer has published an interesting interview with Rep. David Lewis, chairman of the House election law committee, about ideas that could lead to a more secure voting system in our state. Any law must comply with the Voting Rights Act and take into account recent federal court decisions about I.D. plans in other states. Lewis is looking into a number of ideas and issues, including how to get an accurate accounting of registered voters who don’t have an I.D. and then making sure they receive one. Facial recognition technology is also on the table.
He has looked into computer software that recognizes people’s faces to help positively identify voters.
“That point is something that we are considering strongly because we don’t want to implement a strict card-based system when it may be easier … when the better path might be to move to the facial recognition model. But we just aren’t quite there yet in technology.
“But just because we’re not there yet, doesn’t mean we’re not better off to spend the money right the first time, than to go through and work so hard and issue everyone a card and then find out, ‘Well, we could have done this easier otherwise,’ ” he said.
The legislature will pass some kind of voter ID legislation, Lewis said, but it won’t be rushed. House Speaker Thom Tillis wants it done carefully, he said.
