As Attorney General Eric Holder prepares to file suit over North Carolina’s new voter I.D. law, it’s a perfect time to revisit the facts about North Carolina’s recent election reform law, courtesy of JLF’s Becki Gray.
You’ve heard it from the Left. You’ve heard it from the press and on TV. It’s all over the Internet. The Voter Suppression Act. Disenfranchised voters. One of the nation’s most restrictive voter ID laws. Sweeping. Controversial. Restrictive. Fiercely contested. Assault on democracy.
Before the General Assembly convened in January, North Carolina’s voting laws were some of the most liberal in the country. Now that legislators have enacted new election-related laws, they’re still among the most liberal in the country; more liberal than New York’s, for example.
The new voting and elections laws bring us closer in line with the rest of the country. House Bill 589 makes substantive changes to our election laws that many believe will restore integrity and trust in our voting system.
Here’s a recap of what the new law does and where North Carolina lines up nationally (much of this information comes from the National Conference of State Legislatures):
• Voter ID: required. Thirty-three states require voters to present identification at the polls. North Carolina is the 34th and joins a national trend of requiring a photo ID. Two-thirds of North Carolinians asked in several polls favor a government-issued photo ID to vote.
I encourage you to read Becki’s entire column.
