North Carolina Voters Could Amend the State Constitution to Require Photo ID for Voting
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What the Referendum Does
The North Carolina Voter ID Amendment would amend the North Carolina Constitution to require voters to present a photo ID to vote in person. The North Carolina State Legislature would be responsible for passing laws to govern the photo ID requirement — this amendment doesn’t specify what types of ID would be acceptable.
In Favor
A well-designed voter ID would prevent voter fraud, protecting election security and ensuring that only those who are eligible to vote can do so.
Opposed
Voter ID laws put all voters’ ability to participate in elections at risk, but disenfranchise African-American voters especially.
In-Depth
Republicans and supporters of this amendment have championed voter IDs against the best defense against voter fraud. Jay N. DeLancy, director of the Voter Integrity Project of North Carolina, argues that a well-designed voter ID law would mitigate “certain types” of voting fraud:
"While no single preventative measure can stop all vote fraud, a well-designed voter ID law would mitigate certain types. And it would greatly reduce North Carolina’s easiest form of disenfranchisement — voter impersonation fraud. ... Prevention is far more efficient than detection and that’s why North Carolina should join the 34 other states that already require some form of voter ID and why we strongly support the voter ID amendment on November’s ballot."
Gov. Roy Cooper (D), the North Carolina Democratic Party, and Serve America Movement oppose this amendment. Serve America Movement’s chief strategist, Reed Galen, argues that this amendment would discourage voters from participating in the democratic process:
“This measure is the extension of the Legislature’s worst political instincts. Worse, it enshrines fundamentally undemocratic processes in North Carolina’s state constitution. It’s inappropriate and will only serve to discourage voters from participating in the democratic process."
Democracy NC’s spokesperson, Jen Jones, adds that this amendment puts all North Carolinians’ voting access at risk:
“[C]laims of so-called rampant voter fraud meet all the hallmarks of a last-minute effort by politicians trying to push an extra photo ID mandate that grows less popular by the day. [Democracy NC is] encouraging voters to rise above the politics, read the fine print on this amendment before voting and vote against an amendment that, because of its vagueness, puts all North Carolinians’ voting access at risk."
Research shows that voter fraud is extremely rare, and that voter ID laws also don’t significantly discourage turnout. Chris Cooper, head of the Department of Political Science and Public Affairs at Western Carolina University, says:
“This is a rare issue where both sides are likely overplaying their hand. Study after study demonstrates that voter fraud is extraordinarily rare. For example, the state of New Hampshire just conducted an investigation [and] found 5 causes of fraudulent voter in the 2016 election. Investigations in Georgia a few years ago came up with similar results. From this perspective, the Republican Party is trying to pass a law to solve a problem that isn’t exactly pressing. At the same time, there is little evidence that voter ID laws suppress turnout.”
The state legislature referred this constitutional amendment to the ballot. The North Carolina House of Representatives passed this amendment 74-43 on a largely party-line vote (Republicans controlled 75 seats in the House, and 74 House Republicans voted for the amendment while all Democrats voted against the amendment). The North Carolina State Senate passed this measure on a 33-12 vote, again on a party-line vote. Since this is a constitutional amendment, the governor’s signature wasn’t needed to put this amendment on the ballot.
In 2013, North Carolina enacted a voter ID law requiring anyone voting in the state to provide one of seven types of photo identification. That law was struck down in 2016, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit said North Carolina lawmakers purposely chose types of ID that African-Americans were more likely to lack.
Summary by Lorelei Yang
(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / cmannphoto)
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