If voter identifcation must be done, do it right

Editorial by Winston Salem Journal, July 23, 2013.

Legislative Republicans are determined to establish a voter-identification law in North Carolina; therefore such a bill is likely to pass before the General Assembly adjourns later this week.

But as Senate and House negotiators wrangle over what should be in that bill, we sincerely hope that they will be true to their word, that they will structure their bill to improve elections, not to suppress the vote of the poor, minorities, college students and the elderly.

If photo identification is to be required in North Carolina, then the state must be open to as many different verifiable identification cards as possible. Unfortunately, some current proposals are too limited.

For example, the recently released Senate bill does not allow use of a UNC-issued stu-dent identification card. That’s unacceptable. UNC is a state institution and it tightly controls the issuance of its cards. The Senate bill also would fail to allow private college cards. There’s no good reason for that, either. If the state is willing to subsidize private colleges to support North Carolinians in attendance, then it should recognize that these colleges issue legitimate identification.

Any legislation must also include extensive outreach efforts to those who will not have one of the few cards allowed. These efforts must include programs to get cards to these eligible voters, and those programs cost money.

The voters in question are often elderly, infirm and poor. A recent State Board of Elections study indicated that as many as 5 percent of all North Carolinians lack identification that would be acceptable at the polls starting in 2016.

We remain unconvinced that there is a need for photo identification in North Carolina elections. The number of true fraud cases in this state’s recent history is miniscule while the right to vote is paramount. Throwing up roadblocks to voting is not acceptable.

By the end of the week, unless something unexpected transpires, North Carolina will have a new voter identification law. We will see whether vote integrity or voter suppression was the intent of the legislative effort.