To the Editor:

In 2016 the Fourth Circuit of Appeals declared the 2013 N.C. Voter ID Act to be unconstitutional on grounds of racial discrimination, targeting black voters “with almost surgical precision.” Ultimately Voter ID was seen as voter suppression by the courts. We hoped this issue had been settled; but these are not normal times.

Five years later we now see the Republican-controlled N.C. General Assembly circumventing the courts, by proposing constitutional amendments. Voters will be asked to vote for or against six on the 2018 Ballot, one being “An Act to Amend the NC Constitution to Require Photo ID for voting in-person.”

The requirement deals only with in-person voting, not absentee voting, which is far more susceptible to voter fraud and more used by white voters. The amendment is vague, and does not clarify what sorts of ID will be acceptable. Details will be added later if approved by voters in November. 

I trust the “details” will not compare to Texas, where student IDs are unacceptable but voting with an NRA-issued ID is OK.

Most N.C. voters see no problem with a photo ID requirement. Let me shed some light on this. For whatever reason there are thousands of registered voters who lack an appropriate photo ID: from those without vehicles who rely on spotty public transportation to find a DMV office, to those unable to pay court costs to reinstate their driver’s license. And not to mention those who must provide a birth certificate for proving one’s identity. You get the idea: getting a photo ID can be a problem for many citizens, especially ones prone to vote Democratic.

In 2014, over 300,000 registered voters in this state lacked an acceptable photo ID. The problem is endemic: Pennsylvania and Texas in 2014 had 350,000 and 608,000 voters without photo ID. In 2008, Barack Obama won this state by 14,000 votes.

Furthermore, an audit by the NC State Board of Elections & Ethics, following the 2016 general election, found only one case of voter fraud that an ID might have prevented — out of 4.8 million ballots cast.

These amendments are politically motivated, will further undermine democracy by suppressing voter turnout, and will diminish the executive power of our governor. It will pave the way for more bad, one-party, self-serving legislation.

It turns out “super majorities” of any political party are not good for our democracy, which is far more fragile without checks and balances. Voting in this mid-term 2018 election has never been more critical.

Roger Turner

Asheville