By Erin Smith
A Wake County Judge has sent North Carolina’s Constitutional Amendment for Voter ID to be reviewed by a three judge panel. Judge Vinston Rozier Jr. ruled on March 12th that the NC Voter ID amendment should be reviewed by a three judge panel. The three judge panel has yet to be named.
At the center of the debate is whether or not requiring a photo identification, in order to vote, discriminates against black voters and makes it more difficult for voters to engage in the electoral process. Those who support voter identification requirements for casting a ballot say requiring some type of photo identification will reduce voter fraud.
According to court records, attorneys for the plaintiffs, argue that the Voter ID measure violates the North Carolina Constitution on the grounds it:
“*Purposefully discriminates against and disproportionately impacts minority voters in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the state’s Constitution;
*unduly burdens the fundamental right to vote, in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the state’s Constitution;
*creates separate classes of voters in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the state’s Constitution;
*imposes a cost on voting in violation of the Free Elections Clause of the Constitution;
*imposes a property requirement for voting in violation of the Property Qualifications Clause and
*impedes the ability of the voters to engage in political expression and speech, in violation of their Right of Assembly and Petition and Freedom of Speech as afforded by the Constitution.”
Attorney’s representing the Legislative defendants filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on February 21, 2019, arguing that the plaintiffs’ claims do not have merit and only focus on its application as it pertains to only certain groups of voters “such as those who do not currently possess a form of voter ID recognized by the statute.”
North Carolina’s voters approved the constitutional amendment in November 2018 adding Voter ID to the state constitution by a margin of 2,049,121 votes for the amendment and 1,643,983 votes against the amendment.
In February 2019, Superior Court Judge G. Byron Collins, in reviewing a case brought before the court by the North Carolina NAACP, ruled that the Voter ID amendment was unconstitutional due to the fact several of North Carolina’s voting districts were unconstitutional due to gerrymandering by the General Assembly. However, the NC Court of Appeals has issued a stay in March 2019 on Judge Collins’ ruling until it has had time to review the decision.
Several North Carolina legislative districts had been ruled as unconstitutional in March 2018 due to racial gerrymandering that was used by the North Carolina General Assembly to draw legislative district maps.
There is federal caselaw in support of voter identification laws. In April 2018, the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Texas’ voter identification law saying it does nto discriminate against black and hispanic voters. According to the New York Times, that was the first time a federal court upheld the law. The Texas law requires voters to show a drivers license, passport or other type of government-issued photo identification in order to vote. The Texas law allows voters who cannot obtain federal identification to sign an affidavit and use an approved alternate form of identification.
In the mean time, the NC State Board of Elections on March 15, 2019, issued a listing of types of identification that are deemed acceptable under the new Voter Identification amendment.
According to a release from NC State Board of Elections Spokesperson Patrick Gannon, Session Law 2018-144 allows the following types of ID to be used for voting:
A N.C. driver’s license
A U.S. passport
A special non-operator’s ID card or other form of non-temporary identification issued by the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles or the N.C. Department of Transportation
A North Carolina voter photo ID card
A tribal enrollment card issued by a recognized state or federal tribe
A driver’s license or special ID card for non-operators issued by another state, the District of Columbia or a U.S. territory or commonwealth, but only if the voter’s voter registration was within 90 days of the election
A military ID card issued by the U.S. government
A Veterans Identification Card issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for use at Veterans Administration medical facilities
“The State Board encourages all North Carolina registered voters and future voters to plan ahead for 2020 and make sure you have an acceptable form of ID,” NC State Board of Elections Director Kimberly Strach said. “In the coming months, our agency plans significant voter ID education efforts, including mailings to all households and seminars in all 100 counties.”
Session Law 2019-4, which became law in March 2019, delays the implementation of photo identification requirements for voting until 2020, according to Gannon.
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