As the N.C. General Assembly reconvenes this year, a contentious question may again once again arise: Should photo identification be required to vote? Republican Gov. Pat McCrory has pledged his support for such a measure, although he said recently that he would consider a bill that requires other documentation than a photo ID to prove identity. “I expect a voter ID bill to be passed in the very near future, and I will sign that bill,” McCrory said earlier this month. But how many voters would be affected by such a bill? A study released Jan. 7 by the State Board of Elections found that just more than 9 percent of the state’s registered voters might currently lack state-issued photo identification.
Comparing voter logs to Department of Motor Vehicles records, the board found that 6,011,717 North Carolina voters were believed to have a valid driver license or photo ID card based on an exact match of their name, driver license number, Social Security number or date of birth.
That left exactly 612,955 registered voters who could not be absolutely confirmed to possess a valid North Carolina driver license or photo ID card.
The board further found that more than half of the unconfirmed names were registered Democrats, and two-thirds of the unconfirmed names were women.
About 24 percent of the voters who might not have photo ID are over the age of 65, the board determined.
Full Article: Voter ID Still Up For Debate – The Watauga Democrat.