Let the perfunctory public hearings begin. On Tuesday, lawmakers in Raleigh listened to more than 100 speakers debate the pros and cons of a law that would require North Carolinians to produce a photo ID on Election Day. Detractors say that requiring an ID to vote will disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of low-income, minority and elderly voters. But supporters of the measure say that producing an identification card is commonplace in today’s society and should be required at the polls. Some have even suggested that voter fraud is a widespread problem, but little evidence has directly backed up that claim.
But it’s unlikely that all the familiar arguments rolled out during yesterday’s 4-hour public hearing will have an impact. A voter ID bill has been inevitable since Republicans gained control of the legislature and the governor’s mansion last November. GOP lawmakers passed a voter ID bill in 2011 but it was vetoed by then-Governor Bev Perdue.
Full Article: The slow, painful road to voter ID | Triangulator.