North Carolina's voter ID law heads to trial

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

World | Mon Jan 25, 2016 7:38am EST

North Carolina's voter ID law heads to trial

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. | BY COLLEEN JENKINS

Opponents of a law requiring North Carolina voters to show certain forms of photo identification at the polls will ask a federal judge on Monday to strike it down on the grounds that it makes casting a ballot harder for minorities.

The trial is the first of several voting rights battles that will play out across the country ahead of the November presidential election.

The case tests a key piece of broad voting restrictions passed after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that North Carolina and other states with a history of discrimination no longer needed federal approval for voting law changes affecting minorities.

In another high-profile case, Texas is fighting to keep its photo voter ID requirement on the books.

"These are kind of bellwether cases that people are watching," said Rick Hasen, a University of California, Irvine professor who specializes in election law. "If Texas and North Carolina are successful here, then I suspect other states will follow suit."

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-north-carolina-voterid-idUSKCN0V31DD

[Bad Dog]

1. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Voter fraud in America is not a problem, and the few cases that have occurred are so tiny that they're insignificant. This is gerrymandering pure and simple, it's a way of disenfranchising mostly old and black people. I live in the UK, I don't need any ID to vote, not even the card they stick through my door prior to elections, although I take it anyway. I just need to give my name and address, they look up a list, put a line through my name to show I've voted then give me the voting slip. It works fine, and I've never been told I've already voted.

The problem isn't people committing voter fraud, it's people not bothering to vote.

[ananda]

3. But the Reep motto is:

If it aint broke, fix it till it is.

[DFW]

2. This is, pure and simple, a scheme to deprive Democrats of their right to vote

The Republicans are not idiots. They know that if elections are held fairly, many of them will lose seats they now hold.

They have the data, as do we, as to who our constituency voters are. They devise laws designed to deprive these constituencies of their right to vote, and cover their lying asses by saying it's to prevent a wave of voter fraud that never existed. We know why they're doing it, and they know why they're doing it. The question is whether or not these cases can be brought before judges that do not overtly share the Republicans' agenda.

[Gothmog]

4. This will be a fun trial to watch

The NC GOP has previously weakened this law to try to avoid a court challenge