Civil rights groups filed a lawsuit Monday challenging a new North Carolina voter ID law in one of the first tests of the legality of new voting restrictions being implemented after the Supreme Court struck down parts of the 1965 Civil Rights Act in June. The Advancement Project and North Carolina NAACP, who filed the suit, charge that the law’s voter requirements will make it harder to vote and that racial minorities will be disproportionately impacted because they are less likely to possess required forms of identification. The lawsuit also argues voter fraud is not a significant problem in North Carolina. Republican Gov. Pat McCrory defended his signing of the law as common sense way to guard the integrity of North Carolina’s election process, insisting that the law is needed to ensure “no one’s vote is disenfranchised by a fraudulent ballot.” In a statement, McCrory also noted that voters won’t be required to present photo identification until the 2016 elections.
Among the nearly seven million primary and general election votes cast in North Carolina in 2012, 121 cases of alleged voter fraud were reported by the State Board of Elections to district attorneys, according to WNCN.
Voter ID laws have proven popular in opinion polls. A Washington Post poll one year ago found nearly three quarters of Americans believe voters should be required to show government-issued photo ID on Election Day. The poll also showed, however, that nearly as many people expressed concern about voter suppression as about voter fraud. A June Washington Post-ABC News poll found 51 percent disapproved of the Supreme Court’s decision striking down part of the law overseeing voting rights for minorities.
Full Article: The next round of the battle over voting rights has begun.
The Voting News
A News Service of the Verified Voting Foundation
