North Carolina Gov. McCrory signs voter ID law
(CNN) – North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed a controversial voter ID bill into law Monday, citing the "common sense" need to protect the right to vote.
The law will go into effect for the 2016 elections and will, among other things, require all voters to present a valid government-issued photo ID at the polls. Opponents contend such laws unfairly discriminate against minority voters.
"Common practices like boarding an airplane and purchasing Sudafed require photo ID and we should expect nothing less for the protection of our right to vote," McCrory said in a statement.
The law passed the Republican-controlled state legislature at the end of July.
North Carolina lawmakers approve controversial election changes
North Carolina is now able to pass voting laws without federal pre-approval after the Supreme Court's ruling on the Voting Rights Act in June. The act had given federal control over voting laws in several southern states, including North Carolina.
Supreme Court limits federal oversight of Voting Rights Act
A Republican, McCrory argued that most states already have voter ID laws and admonished elements on the "extreme left" for using "scare tactics."
"They're more interested in divisive politics than ensuring that no one's vote is disenfranchised by a fraudulent ballot," McCrory said.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice have already filed a lawsuit challenging the law, according to a statement the ACLU released Monday. The lawsuit criticizes the law for "voter suppression," specifically targeting provisions that limit early voting, end registration on the same day as the vote and prevent voting "out-of-precinct."
These provisions "would unduly burden the right to vote and discriminate against African-American voters, in violation of the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause and the Voting Rights Act of 1965," the statement says.
"Eliminating a huge part of early voting will cut off voting opportunities for hundreds of thousands of citizens," Dale Ho, director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, said in the statement.
"It will turn Election Day into a mess, shoving more voters into even longer lines."
Allison Riggs, staff attorney for the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, said the law would make it more difficult for African-Americans to cast their vote.
"Taken together, the new restrictions in this law will disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of eligible voters, depriving many of our most vulnerable citizens from being able to easily exercise a constitutional right," Riggs said in the statement.
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If you cross Obama there are consequences. Look at Arizona. No federal aid for a devastating fire that killed firefighters and destroyed a lot of land and homes. Nope. Nothing. Saul Alinsky would be proud.
"Common practices like boarding an airplane and purchasing Sudafed require photo ID and we should expect nothing less for the protection of our right to vote," McCrory said in a statement."
Common practices like owning a car, motorcycle, or house require registration. Common practices like applying for a job require a background check. And we should expect nothing less for the protection of our right to bear arms.
Republicans allege voter fraud is both "rampant and undetected in North Carolina"
SO voter fraud is completely undetectable and yet somehow they know it is rampant.
Thank goodness. Finally our Republicans stand up for OUR right to vote and our right not to have our vote cancled put by fraudulent votes. This should be statues quo in ALL elections. Id is required for everything, to suggest minorities are unable to obtain Id is in itself Racist!!
Who keeps crying that these laws discriminate against minority voters? Please explain how?
Sad day for NC residents 56-page bill adds new barriers to voting, no more college student IDs, cut early voting to 10 days, no same day registration, no straight party voting, no out of precinct voting, no teenage pre-registration, stimulations on only the State Board of elections can extend longer polls due to problems on and on drastic changes...Thanks Clarence Thomas. All of this with no voting fraud....Craven County NAACP President.
Embarrassing for all North Carolinians. Should be illegal.
This is what you get (republicans) when you don't get out and vote.
This law has only one intention and that is – to keep as many minorities from the polls as possible. Want action – take action and stop voting for these racist pigs to come in and occupy the stys in state and local government. VOTE THEM OUT!
He and his cronies (i.e. Art Pope) are the worst thing that has happened to North Carolina in the recent past.
I live in Guam, we have to show a photo id to vote and we have no issues with it, there are no people claiming that they cant vote, our island is small and lots of people are very poor (1/3 of the island is on some form of public assistance) our seniors still vote in record numbers and our government does not offer free ids. so as far as my personal experience tells me all the claims that these laws disenfranchise poor and minority people are completely groundless and false
good, another state will have more secure elections
I wondered since I moved here from out of state why they DIDN'T require ID already when voting.....
as a moderate democrat that voted for this fraud, I apologize and will participate in the movement to get him and the gerrymandering rebs out of office in a humiliating way
Has anyone checked on how these kinds of laws will affect the poor and minorities? If it cuts them off, then this makes this less of a democratic republic. I would argue that this leads us to a country that only allows the rich to vote.
This law will be struck down in the courts because it disenfranchises to many minority voters and young voters.
Wait and see
Oh!!! We're disenfranchised now!!! Oh, the horror!!!
Repubs have only failed policies to offer our country, so they continue to try to suppress voting.
Pathetic – simply pathetic.
For being fiscal conservatives, GOPers really do like to pass laws that will cost millions of dollars in court and legal fees to defend and in all likelihood lose.
Simply stated: This is another sad day in America. Instead of enhancing our democracy and working to make it a more perfect union, the republicans are looking for ways and enacting laws to limit it...So sad..
Amen and pass the mustard.
The ID is FREE and you can get it the same way you register to vote. What's so "racist" about that?
This will be the death nail to the Republican Party.
Stop it CNN with your headlines it is not just photo id or whatever but multiple other restrictions of those that work a 5 day week and why oh why therefore do pre registration periods (need to be reduced ) =more time opportunity to identify so called fraud.
I am now totally convinced that some states ARE GERY MANDERING HOUSE ELECTIONS. Personally I'll make sure you don't win a single debate able senate seat, and thrown out of as many gerrymandered house seats I can
Love and kisses
Hodgson.
Let's see, require ID to buy beer, cigs, get on a plane, use a credit card, open a bank account, enroll in school, drive a car, but don't require it to vote.
This law should be nation wide. If you want to vote, you need to produce a valid ID. Makes sense.
Why then does the left not want it?
The arguements agianst the law makes no sense when the poor have to have ID to get their welfare checks. it hopefully cuts down on all the fraud that went on during the last 2 elections
Good job.