Institute challenges NC lawmakers on cost of voter ID bill

[struggle4progress]

... I'm speaking today to voice my deep concerns about the voter ID bill proposed for North Carolina. I'm concerned that there's no credible evidence that voter impersonation fraud - the only type of fraud a voter ID bill could possibly address - is a real problem. I'm concerned that the bill would likely disenfranchise tens of thousands of voters who don't have photo ID cards.

But one of my strongest objections is that this bill creates a costly new government bureaucracy that we simply cannot afford, deepening our state's budget crisis and robbing needed money from far more important problems facing our state.

Last month, the Institute released an in-depth report on what a voter ID bill would cost the state of North Carolina. The report didn't just pull numbers out of a hat, like some estimates appear to do; it actually analyzed the fiscal notes prepared for similar bills in Maryland, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas and other states ...

Our analysis found that a conservative estimate is that such a bill would cost North Carolina taxpayers at least $18 million and up to $25 million over the next three years ...

http://www.southernstudies.org/2011/03/institute-challenges-nc-lawmakers-on-cost-of-voter-id-bill.html