Potential law would require state-issued voter ID

Legislation that would require all N.C. voters to have a valid photo ID seeks to deter voter fraud, but some are concerned that it will deter voting in general.

The bill, currently in the N.C. Senate Judiciary Committee, would make it mandatory for voters to provide some form of state-issued identification at polling places. Legislators say the measure will prevent in-person voter fraud and make the voting process easier.

Sen. Jim Forrester, R-Gaston and a co-sponsor of the bill, said poll workers have expressed concerns about the security and efficiency of the voting process in the state.

“They want the elections to be fair, without people voting that shouldn’t be voting,” he said.

For residents without state-issued photo IDs — which could be driver’s licenses, U.S. passports or state employee ID cards — the bill stipulates that each county’s board of elections must supply a voter ID card free of charge.

State-issued ID cards would include student IDs from UNC-system schools — like UNC’s One Card — but might exclude those from private institutions such as Davidson College, said Damon Circosta, executive director of the North Carolina Center for Voter Education.

But providing free ID cards and training poll personnel will require extra funds during a tough economic climate for the state. The Republican leadership in the state legislature has focused on cutting spending to close a budget shortfall of $2.4 billion.

Sen. Jim Davis, R-Cherokee and a co-sponsor of the bill, said the cost borne by the state board of elections could be as high as $20 million to supply voting equipment and educate voters and elections boards in each county.

But Davis said legislators continue to review estimates of the cost and don’t expect it to be that high.

“We don’t know for sure how much it’s going to cost, but we think it’s worth it,” he said.

Voter ID requirements have been a nationwide priority for Republican-controlled state legislatures concerned about voter fraud after previous elections. One such bill was signed into law in South Carolina earlier this month.

Victoria Middleton, executive director of the S.C. office of the American Civil Liberties Union, said voter ID legislation in N.C. and other states are “copycat bills” that are part of a concerted, national effort to reshape access to voting. The bills could have unintended consequences that would suppress voting, she said.

Circosta said the legislation is attempting to address a problem that doesn’t exist, as incidents of voter fraud are “few and far between.”

“When balancing security and accessibility, it is always better to err on the side of accessibility,” he said.

Potential voters without state-issued IDs by definition lack a driver’s license, which makes it difficult to find transportation to sites that would offer free ID cards, he said.

A report by the state’s Fiscal Research Division found that there are 885,537 registered voters without a valid driver’s license or non-operators ID card.

Groups such as students, the elderly and the illiterate are most at risk, Middleton said.

But legislators say it is necessary to change ID requirements to ensure the integrity of the voting process.

“I know a couple of years ago I read a story about a dog voting,” Forrester said. “We certainly don’t want any more of that.”

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