Governor McCrory Signs Voter ID into Law

Raleigh, NC – On August 12 Governor Pat McCrory signed HB 589, commonly referred to as Voter Photo ID, into law. In his signing statement, he said, “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.”

He also asserted, “North Carolinians overwhelmingly support a common sense law that requires voters to present photo identification in order to cast a ballot, and cited polls showing Voter ID support at 67% to 75%.

Opponents note that air travel and drug purchases are not rights enumerated in the Constitution, and they emphasize that those other rights were not preceded by a century of activism, legal fights, and tens of thousands of citizens being attacked and even killed by vigilantes and law enforcement. Dr. William Barber, president of the NC NAACP, commented extensively on the new law. [See Dr. William Barber on the New Voting Suppression Law]

Under the law, a valid North Carolina driver’s license, U.S. passport and various military IDs are among the acceptable forms of photo identification. A voter can also obtain a state-issued photo-ID from the Department of Motor Vehicles at no charge. Student IDs issued by the state university system, however, are not valid, nor are the many proofs of identity that have been accepted for decades, such as utility bills in one’s name and at one’s home address.

The hours available each day for early voting remain the same, though there will be 10 days for voters to cast their ballot early, compared to 17 days in previous years: thus total hours for early voting are cut by 41%. Also, all early voting sites within a county must have the same days and hours of operation, regardless of the level of need in different communities.

The law ends pre-registration of soon-to-be high school graduates. North Carolina was one of only eight states with the practice of “registering” teenagers before they turn 18; the governor’s statement casts this change as a great boon to North Carolina.

“This law will also remove the bureaucratic burden of having to re-certify the address and other identifying information for under-age voters by doing away with pre-registration of 16 and 17 year olds.”