Voter Photo ID Back In Voter Photo ID Bill
After some initial waffling with a compromise to yank a photo ID requirement from a voter photo ID bill, Republicans have regained their senses and appear to be fully backing the legislation’s original intent.
The House Election Committee voted Wednesday along straight party lines to advance legislation requiring NC voters to show at least one of eight forms of ID: a valid driver’s license; a state-issued ID card; ID cards issued by branches of the federal or state government; an approved voter ID card made by a local elections board; state university employee or student IDs; a U.S. passport, a tribal ID card; or a military ID card.
The bill now heads to the House Appropriations Committee. That’s a step in the right direction compared to where the GOP appear headed earlier this month, when they floated a compromise that would have allowed voters to use their voter registration card without an accompanying approved photo ID. Republicans, who apparently temporarily forgot they hold majority control, said the compromise was broached in an attempt to gain broader support from Democrats.
Interesting that in this week’s party-line vote, Democrats weren’t so much looking to reach across the aisle as they were grousing, complaining, and grasping for excuses to sidetrack legislation that a majority of NC residents favor. This from the Burlington Times-News:
Democrats, however, questioned if voter fraud is a big enough problem to merit such a strict photo ID requirement. Rep. Jennifer Weiss, D-Wake, said that the claims were based on “suppositions” and “lack of evidence.”
“I cannot believe that we are trying to solve a problem for which there is no evidence and impose incredible barriers for the citizens of our state,” Weiss said.
During a series of questions posed to Johnnie McLean, the state’s deputy director of elections, Weiss was able to tell committee members that the State Board of Elections found between two and 14 cases of double voting or voter impersonations statewide since 2004.
Rep. Ric Killian, R-Mecklenburg, responded that there were other voting irregularities not included in those statistics, such as 229 incidents of convicted felons voting in 2008. “If you’re going to cite the data, I suggest you cite all the data,” Killian said.
But citing all the data, of course, is not the Democrat way. Relying on tenuous and sometimes fraudulent identification to cast ballots and win elections – that is the Democrat way. Fortunately it looks like Republicans – at least in this case – have remembered why voters made history last November and swept them into control, to set government right.
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