Tillis, bloggers Pow-wow on voter ID bill

 

 

Apparently, the Speaker of the NC House had a private meeting with some conservative bloggers to talk about the issue of voter ID in North Carolina elections.   (Hmmm.  My invitation must have been lost in the mail.) 

The latest reports off of Jones Street suggest that Republicans were going to water down the voter ID bill so they could get Democrat votes to override Lame Duck Bev’s veto.   (Utility bills could be accepted in lieu of actual government-issued photo IDs.) 

Randy Dye published an account of the meeting over on NCRenegade:

 Voter ID legislation does not have enough support in the House to override the Governor veto (originally stated that there were not enough votes in the Senate).
Leaders from NC Listen, NC Fire, Randy’s Right, Feet to the Fire and NC Renegade were represented with Speaker Tillis today.  Very informal, direct and get to know each other atmosphere.
I believe Speaker Tillis gave an  honest description of the reality on North Carolina politics with voter ID.  The Speaker expressed that we do not have the seats in the House to get anther override for voter ID if they send the bill with the hardcore wording:

(1) A North Carolina drivers license issued under Article 2 of Chapter 20 of the General Statutes, including a learner’s permit or a provisional license.
(2) A special identification card for nonoperators issued under G.S. 20-37.7.
(3) An identification card issued by a branch, department, agency, or entity of this State, any other state, or the United States.
(4) A United States passport.
(5) An employee identification card issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the United States government, this State, or any county, municipality, board, authority, or other entity of this State.
(6) A United States military identification card.
(7) A tribal identification card.
(8) A North Carolina voter identification card issued under G.S. 163-166.14.

Bottom line, if no compromise is made, there will be no voter ID bill passed this election cycle, there’s just not enough votes in the House as it stands now.  So we have a choice.

Either get some form of voter ID bill passed into law or wait till next election cycle.  Then we take the chance of losing or gaining more conservatives seats, along with the possibility of getting another Democratic Governor.

I myself do not second guess elections, so there’s the facts of voter ID as it stands now.

Question:  What is so “hardcore” about the current legislation vetoed by Bev?  Look at all of the things you have to show a photo  ID for in conducting everyday business.   The only people opposed to this are those whose political fortunes are tied to machine politics — where ballot box stuffing and voter hauling are done with a wink and a nod.  

It sounds like these guys were WAAAAAY too impressed with their private meeting in the Speaker’s office.  (I would have asked Tillis for his account on the whole allegation of his reported bullying of a young woman at the NCGOP convention.  THAT’S probably why I didn’t get invited to this meeting.) 

It’s an election year, folks.  Voter ID, in its current form, is a very reasonable measure that is overwhelmingly popular with the people.  MAKE THEM VOTE ON THIS AS-IS, THOM.  If they vote it down, it’s an issue to put in front of the voters in November.

You folks with the R next to your name were  put into power in 2010 to stand up to this kind of nonsense and get our state back on track.  Watering down this legislation to allow for utility bills makes it a joke.  You will score PR points for passing a bill which is basically toothless.

It’s not about “getting something done.”    It’s about doing THE RIGHT THING to protect the folks who sent you up there.

Voting to override Bev’s veto AS-IS is the right thing to do.