It will be harder to cast a ballot in North Carolina now, thanks to a catch-all set of anti-voter legislation that – as it did in other states – addresses a problem that doesn’t appear to actually exist. North Carolina’s Republican-controlled government has eliminated same-day voter registration; reduced early voting; abolished a program to help high school students register; given party poll-watchers more authority to challenge voters; weakened disclosure for “independent expenditure” committees; ended out-of-precinct voting; made it more difficult to open satellite polling places, say at a nursing home; banned an option for straight-ticket voting; and – of course – approved a new photo-ID requirement. Gov. Pat McCrory said he’ll sign the legislation, despite not having seen at least one of its provisions – and apparently not even understanding the current system.
“There is plenty of opportunity for voter registration – online, offline, through many methods,” McCrory told The Associated Press. “I thought that was a fair system before, and I think it is a fair system now.”
Except that North Carolina doesn’t allow and has never allowed online registration.
McCrory admitted he hadn’t seen the part of the bill that ends pre-registration for high school students. Why would the governor care about efforts to encourage young Carolinians to vote?
Full Article: Tarring democracy in North Carolina | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com.