Voter Registration ID Requirements

[catspjamas]

NC just passed new legislation requiring a photo id when you register to vote, and vote. It goes into effect 2016. If you've already registered, but didn't use a photo id, you'll have to show a photo id. If you don't have a photo id, the State will give you one for free, through the DMV. There are some other types of paperwork that you can use for ID, if you don't have a photo. There's other stuff involved, other changes, but the biggest complaint, and what the lawsuits are about, is that the new photo id requirement discriminates against blacks.

Can someone please explain how having to show a photo id discriminates against blacks, or anyone for that matter? If you're black and you have a valid driver's license, you have a photo id. If you're black and in the military, you have an id. The State already issues ID cards for a fee, and now they're going to give them away for free (at tax payer expense), so again, how does that discriminate? Seems like to me the only people it will discriminate against are those that are too ----ed lazy to go get an id.

[AngieM2]

Or want to vote more than once?

I've had to use a voter photo id for years. Only logical way to make sure that a person votes in the right area and that only one vote.

[Ozarks Tom]

Now just exactly how is Holder supposed to divide the races if he can't use them as groups against each other? If he declares through a lawsuit someone is being discriminated against enough people will immediately feel officially slighted, achieving his goal. You can' forget Holder has "his" people.

Treating EVERYONE equally isn't what he and obama are about.

[HOTW]

Ridiculous! My SIL does not drive and she has a photo ID from the DMV so she can present it when she is voting. People are just silly they want progress but when it shows up they want to go back to the old days.....

[MO_cows]

I never understood how voter ID became a party issue or a race issue, either. It is just common sense. Photo ID is part of our society/culture. Nobody is filing lawsuits over showing ID to write/cash a check, or buy liquor, even spray paint and cold medicine in some cases. But it's discriminatory to require ID from voters? Give me a break.

Once upon a time in the 80's, my non-driving grandmother, who also lived below the poverty level, found herself needing ID to write checks and such. So she got herself on the bus (she was in her 70's by this time) went and got her ID, then proudly showed it to me the next time I visited. I would have gladly driven her if she asked, but no, it was no problem she said. So I find it hard to understand how anyone else who is poor and/or elderly and/or doesn't have a car couldn't do it just as easily. She also had a funny birth certificate because she was born at home, but she got it done without breaking a sweat.

This one just falls under the category of "best practices".

[chickenista]

The name is a misnomer-Voter ID Law.
It is much more than that.
Sure.. some of the elderly black people without birth certificates for any number of reasons etc.. cannot get the proper ID's. In some cases the middle name is on the marriage certificate, but not on other papers etc.. but that is a small number.
And if you are elderly and born out of state, you will ahve to make arrangements for a birth certificate from your home state etc..

It is the other parts of the law that are the real problem.
And it doesn't just hurt black voters.
It hurts predominately Democratic voters and targets counties and districts that voted Democratic in the last X number of elections.
It will also greatly affect Republican voters.

No Sunday early voting.
A majority of Sunday voters were black in the last X amount of elections.

Closure of many polling locations. For instance, Boone. Now 9,000 people have to vote in one room in a building with 35 parking spots. They have created the third largest precinct in the State by closing polling sites and having only that one.
The third largest in the state! With only 35 parking spots and a single room to vote it!

Oh.. and no more extended hours due to long lines. So if you are in line and the time comes, you will be sent away; regardless of your party.

No straight ticket voting, which slows the polls down even more.

A week sliced off of all early voting. So those long lines will be really long, but no extended hours. Get there early, pack a lunch.

No student IDs will be accepted as proper ID. A dormitory address cannot be used as a proper address to register to vote. If your car registration doesn't match etc.. then you can't vote. So if your car is registerd at your parent's home..oh well.
They closed the poll at Appalachian state University.. that 17,000 voters out. And proposed closings at other campuses (oddly enough.. 2 predominately black colleges)

No pre-registration of kids who be be of age.

No same day registration.

You can be challenged by any voter in your county. You can show up at the polls and a stranger, a normal citizen from your county can make you prove that you have the right to vote there. It used to be only in your precinct that your vote could be challenged. Now, a person from another precinct can travel and 'watch the polls'. There are already cases where white folks challenge black voters, but that was quelched by the precinct rule. They expect droves of folks to come and harass voters now. That should end well. How would you react if someone asked you to prove that you had the right to be there? Seriously. How mad would you get?


And there are about 20 more provisions of this 'Voter ID Law' that I am to tired to bother with.
Hopefully this gives you an idea of why this is such a bad, bad thing.
And when I say show up early and pack a lunch.. I am not kidding.
About 1/3 of all NC voters voted early. Not this coming election.
The lines will be nightmarish.
And with no extended hours, those who are left in the line WILL have the doors closed in their faces.
I would go ahead and ask for the day off now. Make sure you have a whole day to kill.
But what happens when a majority of the state tries to take the day off to vote??
Who do you think will not have the option of getting fired for not making it to work because they are trying to exercise their right to vote?
It will be the poor that will suffer. The poor who cannot afford to lose a job.
The menial jobs where there are 50 people waiting to take that job.

It will not just be the poor, the elderly, the black or the Democrats that will find difficulties. I think a lot of people are going to be completely shocked.

[arabian knight]

Originally Posted by MO_cows

I never understood how voter ID became a party issue or a race issue, either. It is just common sense. Photo ID is part of our society/culture. Nobody is filing lawsuits over showing ID to write/cash a check, or buy liquor, even spray paint and cold medicine in some cases. But it's discriminatory to require ID from voters? Give me a break.

Once upon a time in the 80's, my non-driving grandmother, who also lived below the poverty level, found herself needing ID to write checks and such. So she got herself on the bus (she was in her 70's by this time) went and got her ID, then proudly showed it to me the next time I visited. I would have gladly driven her if she asked, but no, it was no problem she said. So I find it hard to understand how anyone else who is poor and/or elderly and/or doesn't have a car couldn't do it just as easily. She also had a funny birth certificate because she was born at home, but she got it done without breaking a sweat.

This one just falls under the category of "best practices".

Ya I will never understand some that is for sure. You have to have a ID for just about everything in todays world. And this one of THE most important thing a person can do is Vote, and yet some oppose such a thing.
And this is for everyone, not just one segment of the population all will have to get ID that is not being biased to a certain group, that is being Fair For All concerned about the constitutional right to Vote.

[nebula5]

Thank you Chickenista, for the most comprehensive list of changes I have seen for the North Carolina voting law. Although my state does not have early voting, they have many, many polling stations, so there is never really long lines on election day. I have never waited more than 1/2 hour, ever.
I hope they adjust these changes before the next major election.

[AngieM2]

chickensta - all that stuff you listed - what's the big deal?
Really - there are states that don't have all that early voting, extended voting, etc.

Why are people whining about a clean set of election rules ? It only makes sense if you want fraud for some reason. Stretching it out - why? More time to get to other areas to fraudulantly vote? And you can get to the polls between 7 am and 7 pm if you plan accordingly and it means something to you.

I still only see excuses for why not having voting id or one day is voting day.

[chickenista]

Even the NC Speaker of the House, Tillis(R), says we have no voter fraud problem in NC.

The big deal is that some of the changes made are illegal.
The big deal is that many voters, of all parties, will be turned away, challenged by annoying jerk people with no basis, forbidden from voting at all.
The big deal is the number of seriously drastic changes in many communities.
And yes.. a lot of those 9,000 people who will be trying to cram into one small room to vote think that voting is important. (and that is just one instance) But the 'new' voting area is a mile down a road with a 45mph speed limit adn no sidewalks and a mile from the bus stop.
And yes.. the elderly on their walkers and the blind etc.. will try to get rides with folks, but where will they park? Only 35 spaces available.

These new laws, the ones listed and the ones I didn't; which deal with local election board powers to do absolutely anything that they want.. including shutting down polling places in predominately black, poor or student areas because they vote democrat more than they don't, seriously restrict the ability of Americans to vote for their representation in government.

NC now had the most regressive voting laws in the entire country. That is why this is a big deal.

But it is not anything for you to worry or concern yourself with.
It doesn't apply to you.
so, I would just let it all go. It's not your state and you will not be affected at all.

[AngieM2]

Sorry North Carolina is having such problems, sound as if redistricting according to census numbers would be good.

But as you say, I don't live in NC so I do not have to put up with that. Of course, only the people that live in North Carolina can change that.

[catspjamas]

Originally Posted by chickenista

No Sunday early voting.
A majority of Sunday voters were black in the last X amount of elections.

I think no voting on Sunday is a good thing. People don't need to vote on Sunday. But it doesn't end Sunday voting, it just means there will be only one Sunday to vote. The Sunday right before election day.

Closure of many polling locations. For instance, Boone. Now 9,000 people have to vote in one room in a building with 35 parking spots. They have created the third largest precinct in the State by closing polling sites and having only that one.
The third largest in the state! With only 35 parking spots and a single room to vote it!

Can't find any references to polling places being closed. It does state that a committee is to "study how many voters each precinct – the area where voters share the same polling place – should have. It also allows the committee to study issues such as ways to reduce long lines, the optimal size of a polling place, required parking and "recommend to the General Assembly any legislation it deems advisable."

Boone's having to use only one polling place is because the Watauga County Board of Elections voted to combine Boone's three precincts into one. This vote was on August 12, 2013, and has nothing to do with changes to NC election laws.

Oh.. and no more extended hours due to long lines. So if you are in line and the time comes, you will be sent away; regardless of your party.

Not true.

"Extending hours: Polling places on Election Day are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Current law allows county board of elections to extend the poll hours until 8:30 p.m. in "extraordinary circumstances," such as for unusually heavy turnout or if voting was disrupted during the day. Starting in 2014, the bill shifts the power to extend voting hours to the State Board of Elections, allowing the board to order the poll remain open extra time equal to whatever time was lost due to a disruption. The time a poll closes is key because any voter in line at that time may still vote, even if they won't cast their ballot until much later due to congestion. Extending the hours gives voters extra time to get in line."
http://www.wral.com/election-changes...2016/12750290/

No straight ticket voting, which slows the polls down even more.

And what is wrong with people actually having to think about which person they're going to vote for? And many people that vote straight ticket don't realize that when they do so, they're not voting for the President or for candidates in nonpartisan races like judges.

A week sliced off of all early voting. So those long lines will be really long, but no extended hours. Get there early, pack a lunch.

They could have said no early voting at all. Like it used to be

No student IDs will be accepted as proper ID. A dormitory address cannot be used as a proper address to register to vote. If your car registration doesn't match etc.. then you can't vote. So if your car is registerd at your parent's home..oh well.
They closed the poll at Appalachian state University.. that 17,000 voters out. And proposed closings at other campuses (oddly enough.. 2 predominately black colleges)

The students can still vote, they just have to vote in the precinct of their legal address. So a student from Wilmington, going to school in Boone, is going to have to vote in Wilmington. They can get an absentee ballot. It also means out of State students have to vote in their home state. The students can still vote, just not where they attend school, unless it's their legal residence.

No pre-registration of kids who be be of age.

The only ones I can see that affecting is a kid who turns 18 on election day.

No same day registration.

And there shouldn't be. The county election office has enough to do on election day without worrying about registering people. When I moved here and got my license, I was asked if I wanted to register to vote, wasn't an election year or anything, but I went ahead and registered.

You can be challenged by any voter in your county. You can show up at the polls and a stranger, a normal citizen from your county can make you prove that you have the right to vote there. It used to be only in your precinct that your vote could be challenged. Now, a person from another precinct can travel and 'watch the polls'. There are already cases where white folks challenge black voters, but that was quelched by the precinct rule. They expect droves of folks to come and harass voters now. That should end well. How would you react if someone asked you to prove that you had the right to be there? Seriously. How mad would you get?

Wouldn't get mad at all, because I can prove I have the right to vote in the precinct I'm voting in. Maybe there is a problem with people going to a different district to vote because they want to vote for certain reps, but they couldn't vote for them, because they're in a different district.

[chickenista]

The website that you used to show polling times has not been updated to show the new law.
And it won't until the dust has settled.

And as for the rest..I am glad that you are pleased with it from what you can garner from just a few minutes of poking around.

[Sawmill Jim]

IN Ky no Id No vote or one area for sure

[catspjamas]

Originally Posted by chickenista

The website that you used to show polling times has not been updated to show the new law.
And it won't until the dust has settled.

And as for the rest..I am glad that you are pleased with it from what you can garner from just a few minutes of poking around.

I did not spend a "few minutes of poking around". I found the actual legislation and read it (ok, not the whole thing, but a good majority). It's a PDF file. I didn't use it in my post because you have to scroll through the document to find what you want, the article says the same thing, but was only one click. Here's the site which has a link to the document, lefthand side of the site under Bill Text. At the bottom of the list is SL2013-381, which is the final version.

http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascript...ubmitButton=Go

Maybe you should read the exact document and decide for yourself whether it is good or bad, instead of just listening to the media that agrees with your views.

Here's what the legislation says about extended hours, the sentence in red is marked through in the PDF file, but wouldn't paste that way.

SL2013-381
Session Law 2013-381
Page 39
SECTION 32.2. G.S.163-182.1(a)(7) is repealed.

PART 33. REGULATE EXTENSION OF CLOSE OF POLLS
SECTION 33.1. G.S.163-166.01 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163-166.01. Hours for voting.

In every election, the voting place shall be open at 6:30 A.M. and shall be closed at 7:30P.M. Exact same times as in the article!

[In extraordinary circumstances, the county board of elections may direct that the polls remain open until 8:30 P.M.]

If the polls are delayed in opening for more than 15 minutes, or are interrupted for more than 15 minutes after opening, the State Board of Elections may extend the closing time by an equal number of minutes. As authorized by law, the State Board of Elections shall be available either in person or by teleconference on the day of election to approve any such extension.

If any voter is in line to vote at the time the polls are closed, that voter shall be permitted to vote. No voter shall be permitted to vote who arrives at the voting place after the closing of the polls.

~~~~~~~

Basically, what they're saying is: the hours to vote are 6:30am to 7:30pm. If you're already in line at 7:30pm, you'll get to vote, even if it takes until 8:30pm for you to do so. But, if you show up at 7:35pm, you'll be turned away.

It's the same if you go to a store that closes at 7:30pm. If you walk in at 7:29, you can shop, if you get there at 7:31, the doors are locked.

[Tiempo]

I think no voting on Sunday is a good thing. People don't need to vote on Sunday

Why? Why not?

[Patchouli]

There are plenty of excellent explanations all over the internet as to why these laws disproportionately affect the young, the elderly, the poor and minorities. The real question here is do you want an answer? It's always easy to run with the quick and easy superficial answer and never dig deeper for the truth. If you want the truth rather than what strokes your particular political ego then do a bit of research. If you just want people to nod their heads so you can continue in your political cocoon ask a question in a biased forum like this.

[Sawmill Jim]

Thing is TPTB don't want a voter id law it hurts their cause . Don't one need an Id to have a drivers licenses, snap card ,wic. section 8 housing or to use their Obomacare to get in to a Dr .Couldn't anyone of these offices handle verifying who someone is or do they just mail out money to all at the free door .

[DEKE01]

CatsPJ - good info. SO many times we get a political response to changes that the sky will fall if you don't do things that pols way. The truth rarely is anywhere near the dire consequences the pols claim.

Concealed carry:
claim - people will be shooting each other in the streets over parking spaces
reality - concealed carry people are more trustworthy than cops

concealed carry in restaurants and bars if you aren't drinking:
claim - drunks will be shooting each other
reality - concealed carry folks continue to be more trustworthy than cops

Sequester, reduced budgets, gov't shut down:
claim - people will be starving in the streets, nothing will get done
reality - {yawn} the gov't is shut down?

Voter ID:
claim - massive denial of rights
reality - where voter ID laws exist, people vote just like before ID laws...but they vote only once...err...living people vote only once, only the dead are denied a vote.


Chickenista may have found some problems with the new NC law, maybe, but I didn't hear a reason not to have Voter ID

[Hollowdweller]

All the people I know without picture ID are white rednecks, republicans that lost their license due to DUI.