Voter ID Rushes Forward

Within hours of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling gutting Section 4 and 5 of the Voting Rights Act, the NC legislature began to rush restrictive new voter ID legislation toward passage.

The Act, passed in 1965 to outflank Jim Crow laws that had restricted or eliminated voting rights for African Americans throughout the south, required in Section 5 that particular states get advance approval (“pre-clearance”) for any changes in districting or voter registration rules that might impact black voter access and/or turnout.

Section 4 establishes the formula that determines which states or jurisdictions (such as parts of NC) fall under the rules. Southern states have chafed under the success of the act as black turnout has slowly grown from near zero to well over 50% or even higher in recent elections.

Legislative leaders immediately announced plans to implement Voter ID rules that had been on hold while the case was under review. Those rules will likely make it much harder, or even impossible, for tens of thousands of NC citizens – primarily black, poor, elderly, or in college – to vote.

All four groups tend to vote more Democratic than wealthier, whiter, more middle-aged voters, and the proposed laws are expected – and designed – to benefit the Republican party’s election prospects.