Don’t get the wrong idea from NC09 hearings: Let’s not make it (even) harder to vote in NC
The NC09 hearings have shone the national spotlight onto what appears to be coordinated and well-funded election fraud in eastern North Carolina.
As the NC State Board of Elections investigators wade through piles of evidence and often lengthy testimony, one dangerous narrative has emerged: the notion that our entire voting system should be overhauled.
Yes, a few individuals appear to have taken advantage of the procedures for requesting and returning absentee ballots. But these revelations do not necessitate targeting past and future voters. The actions detailed during testimony, especially on the first day of the hearing, are already illegal. Making it more difficult to register to vote, to vote in person, or to vote by mail won’t prevent future abuses of NC election law by so-called “political operatives.”
Requiring a photo ID to vote, ending same-day registration, and shortening the early vote period would not have prevented the type of electoral fraud the NCSBE is investigating. Republican efforts to target in-person “voter fraud,” which is largely nonexistent, would not have prevented a single action described in the testimony so far. Moreover, they have not made an effort to target the kind of election fraud and other questionable actions that occurred in NC09.
Read More2018 Session: Status of Constitutional Amendments
The N.C. General Assembly filed six potential amendments to the state constitution during the 2018 short session. This chart will be updated as they move through the NCGA.
Republicans file constitutional amendment requiring voter ID, opens path for NCGA to define acceptable forms of ID
House Speaker Tim Moore announced filing of H1092, a bill that would add voter ID requirements to the NC Constitution if voters approve it on their ballots in November.
Voters would not know the specifics of photo ID requirements, like if student or military IDs count, prior to voting. If the measure is approved by voters, lawmakers would then be allowed to decide what specific types of ID the state would accept at the polls.
This move comes after Republicans’ 2013 “monster” voter ID bill was struck down by the courts for “targeting African-Americans with almost surgical precision.” ACLU and Democracy NC have already come out against this revival of voter ID which they say amounts to voter suppression.
Read MoreDemocracy NC Election Report: 2016 voter experience and recommended changes for 2018
Democracy NC issued a report on the 2016 election based on first-person accounts gathered during early voting and Election Day 2016 from voters, on-site poll monitors, and calls to the Election Protection hotline. The data “demonstrate that much more granular problems disrupt the rights of voters to participate in elections — problems that state and county elections agencies have the power and responsibility to address," according to Democracy NC.
The report highlights issues from the 2016 election including inconsistent implementation of out-of-precinct voting, excessively long lines, voting equipment breakdowns, and poorly trained poll workers. Based on the 2016 voter experience, Democracy NC suggests some changes the state and county boards of elections can implemnet for 2018.
Read MoreVIDEO: Redistricting Public Hearings
Hear what North Carolinians had to say on new maps proposed by House and Senate Republicans.
In Halifax County the public hearing took place in one of the districts ruled an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.
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