#ncga: Affidavits instead of photo ID?
Incredible. It is amazing that something that is sooooo common sense is having such difficulty navigating through the conservative revolution:
Voters who do not have photo identification would be able to sign a affidavit and present alternate forms of identification in order to cast a ballot under a last-minute addition to an elections law bill that passed the General Assembly on Thursday.
The measure now heads to Gov. Pat McCrory for his signature or veto.
The agreement to allow for a “reasonable impediment declaration” in lieu of photo ID creates a small but significant exception to the 2013 voter ID law that requires virtually all voters have photo identification starting next year. That law allowed poor voters to get a free identity card from the state Division of Motor Vehicles, but voting rights advocates say that hurdles in obtaining the cards – obtaining long-lost birth records, travel time and time away from work – effectively excluded some voters from the polls.
As originally passed by the House and the Senate, House Bill 836 never mentioned creating an exception to the photo ID law. But differences between the House and the Senate sent the measure to a conference committee, a group appointed to draft a final bill agreeable to both chambers. The measure drafted in conference included the language allowing for the affidavit.
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Lawmakers typically are not supposed to include material not part of earlier drafts of the bill in a final conference report.
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While they objected to the process, Democrats largely supported the measure, which passed the Senate 44-2 and the House 104-4.
“One of the reasons that we put a two-year delay in the photo ID provision is so that we could get some feedback,” Senate President Pro Tem said Thursday. “What that provision represents is some of the feedback to try to make sure that everyone who is eligible to vote has an opportunity to not only cast their vote but have their vote counted.”
Rep. , R-Harnett, who chairs the House Elections Committee, said the idea of an affidavit came up during the public comment sessions on the State Board of Elections’ rules to enforce the photo ID requirement. He called it “a fail-safe,” but said state officials still stress the need for a photo ID in future elections.
“The gold standard that we’ve tried to apply in this election conversation is that we want every voter to take part,” Lewis said. “If we’re going to err, we want to err on the side of the voter.”
Photo ID is one of the issues involved in state and federal lawsuits against the 2013 bill that are scheduled to go to trial this summer. Those suits claim the earlier voting law lays down unconstitutional impediments to poor voters.
Under the new bill, voters would be able to swear that they could not obtain photo ID because of eight broad reasons, including “lack of transportation,” “work schedule” and “family responsibilities.” Such a voter would have to present alternative forms of ID, such as a utility bill or the last four digits of their Social Security number and birth date.
Holy cow. Is it even possible to sign up for utilities without absolute proof of your identity? The utility companies want their money, and some assurance you can be found if you skip town. How many adults out there have no way to absolutely prove their identity?
“We were able to get some small measure of relief for voters in North Carolina that will be implemented immediately,” House Minority Leader , D-Durham, said after the vote. “We raised significant objections to the timing of the vote and the lack opportunity for public input but we did not risk having another election without some relief for voters under the current oppressive Voter ID law. The question still remains whether resources will be dedicated to train members of the Board of Election and inform the public of these new options.”
Seriously. WHAT is the point of a super-majority?
Congress passes the trade bill and NC guts voter ID all in the same day, rah rah GOP.
And to think…I was JUST about to make a contribution to the NCGOP due to the new chair and vice chair. While I seriously doubt either of them had anything to do with this legislative maneuver, I’ll hold off on that contribution. I can tell you where it DARN sure ain’t going, and that’s the House and Senate GOP Caucuses.
I had made the same decision to start giving to the party again, and for the same reason. The House caucus is run by Obama Republicans, so they would not be on my list, but I would have given to the Senate caucus. No more. Any contributions to a general fund like that may end up in the wrong hands.
My checkbook has already been active for 2016 races, and it will continue to be, but ONLY to specific candidates whom I trust on the issues to be real Republicans, NOT Obama Republican phonies. My emphasis will be in primaries to get rid of stinking Obama Republicans.
Whoa Nellie! I just placed my checkbook back in the safe.
i usually work as a chief judge on Election Day and at early voting. What a nightmare this will be. I don’t need the money that bad. M
David Lewis again. That guy has been hard to tell from a Democrat on issue after issue. Now he strikes again, undermining the integrity of our elections. He is either a low grade moron or a high grade traitor. And to think that this moron / traitor is not only a powerful legislator but also our NCGOP National Committeeman.
A very high priority for conservative Republicans next year needs to be removal of moron / traitor David Lewis from his position as National Committeeman.
Of course, we also need to put him high on the priority list to target in his primary. He is just so awful on policy on issue after issue. Lewis is one of the top Obama Republicans in the legislature and needs to be GONE. It would even be preferable to have a Democrat in that seat than this despicable Democrat enabler.
#DefundTheGOP If these guys keep at it, we might as well elect Democrats. That way it might just push what remains of the GOP to the right. When there is no balance of power, it all goes to their head and they start spending like Democrats. Whoever voted for this disaster needs to be replaced.
I am right there with you. I am voting democrap for my local NCGA races next time. I would rather vote dem and know I am getting screwed rather than send someone I trust and have them stick it to me.
Take your vote off the table. The GOP believes your complacency factor will keep your vote in their column, no matter how often or badly they betray you. Prove them wrong. Re-register as Unaffiliated, and then #DefundTheGOP. Go to ConservativeGrassrootVoters.org for more.
Leaving the Party won’t accomplish a bloody thing. Let’s build on what we did in Raleigh last week.
Isn’t it amazing. The Republicans run for office sounding like Ronald Reagan and they vote like Nancy Pelosi.
You can’t fix stupid-but you can elect it.
Well, we’re at the bottom of the well. And it’s empty. So much for Republicans who stand for what is RIGHT.
Disappointment is an understatement. You’ll be hearing from us.
Gov. McCrory, it’s in your hands. DO NOT SIGN THE BILL INTO LAW. Talk with Glenda Clendenen, Director of Moore County Board of Elections – she will describe what is ahead with this bill.
Wow! Progressives really are on a roll in North Carolina.
President Obama, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and former Attorney General Eric Holder who strongly oppose Voter ID will be so happy with this bill, as will Hillary Clinton, as it will help her carry North Carolina. It might even help encourage Kay Hagan to jump into the Senate race.
This string of progressive successes all started when we in the hard core environmental movement splashed out some big bucks to buy those two progressive Republican consultants Dee Stewart and Paul Shumaker to help get legislation favorable to President Obama’s green energy program through the NC legislature. We have some of that accomplished and they are working on the rest. That started the ball rolling for progressives.
Not only did this veto proof Repubilcan legislature give us President Obama’s agenda on green energy, but the House committee so far has helped President Obama’s agenda on undocumented immigrants with that legislation on drivers licenses for these poor oppressed Mexicans.
Now the GOP is even neutering its own Voter ID bill, just in time for the critical 2016 presidential race when it is Hillary’s turn. Of course, I did not get my turn due to the hanging chads in Florida. Maybe if Hillary stumbles, I should run again.
The truth will come out soon on the real story. Sec. Tata failed to do his Job and charged people for the free Photo ID’s so now we will lose the lawsuit and NC essential has no Voter ID.
I sincerely hope that is not true, but if it is, then McCrory should summarily fire Tata, as well as everyone in the chain of command. In fact, the Republican Party should loudly demand that.
Tata has hired a lot of non-Republicans in key positions in DOT including a raft of career public school bureaucrats. I would not put it past such help to screw up, whether inadvertantly or on purpose.
The GOP is a walking cadaver. The Grand Old Party needs to be completely replaced by a living, breathing Grand New Party of Americans. Nothing changes, if nothing changes. Start by re-registering Unaffiliated; #DefundTheGOP. Go to ConservativeGrassRootVoters.org for more.
Running on the top of Plott Hound
THE EXCUSE: DMV/DOT incompetence/sabotage as citizens seeking free ID were told they had to pay…
…allegedly made law vulnerable under existing lawsuit challenging 2013 election changes…
WHO’S IN CHARGE HERE? Was Tony Tata on his book tour while DMV floundered??
You called it, What a disgrace and nobody has been held accountable. So much for the strong military leadership skills,Tata has to go. What is even more appalling is Berger and Lewis trying to cover up the reason for the law change with Holder talking points.
Tata reminds me of another uniformed blowhard named Wesley Clark. Abraham Lincoln referred to his kind as “political generals”, someone who was more into political networking than soldiering.
That said, for all you Republicans thinking about calling the Guv to demand a veto…you’d better demand a mass firing and purge of all the Democrats he’s surrounded himself with because that’s obviously coming home to blow up everything that conservatives have been trying to accomplish since 2010.
By the way, someone told me that the Guv used the word “conservative” 86 times during his speech at the NCGOP convention. Guess he felt he needed to convince somebody.
And wasn’t it Tata who unilaterally made the decision in the first place to give the DACA illegals licenses?
My dog read this affidavit crap story last night and has been barking nonstop ever since. Next week I’m turning him loose in Raleigh.
This is crunch time for McCrory. He needs to step up to the plate, and fire Tata and everyone who was in the chain of command at DOT who screwed this up. If he fails to do that, then GOP voters need to skip the governors race and fire McCrory. This is inexcusable.
Tata is the same idiot who caved in to our liberal Attorney General to give NC drivers licenses to ”Dreamer” illegal aliens. A federal court in Arizona ruled shortly afterward that states had no obligation to do that.
Tata has never been registered as a Republican in North Carolina, and many of his key appointees at DOT have never been registered as Republicans. Some are career public school bureaucrats. This is what happens when a governor does not ride herd on appointments from the governors office and make sure they are politically reliable. Governors Martin and Holshouser knew how to do that.
Tata has to go.
This is why I am no longer a Republican. They are virtually indistinguishable from the Democrats these days. Re-register Unaffiliated and send the GOP a clear message that you don’t like their politics. There’s information at http://www.ConservativeGrassrootVoters.org.
I had enough of the GOP eight years ago, but I finally did something about it. I registered Unaffiliated a few months ago and don’t regret it especially when I see our elected representatives doing things like this once or twice a week. I no longer feel bad when the GOP tries to shame me into staying with the party. It’s obvious they don’t care about me unless they want my vote. Now as an Independent, they can’t count on it unless they give me a candidate I can actually support. If enough people would do this, it would make a difference.
Is there an aboriginal dance to summon comet strikes on Raleigh?
One wonders if the orchestrated comments about conservatives neutering themselves politically on the sidetrack to nowhere of registering Unaffiliated is being driven by Dee Stewart, Paul Shumaker, or Karl Rove. Those are the main beneficiaries of conservatives foolishly doing that.
Conservatives have battles to fight against liberal establishment Republicans, and we can be most effective in doing so by staying registered as Republicans. Conservatives just won control of the NCGOP. Now is not the time to cut and run. We need our conservative delegates in place next year to replace our National Committeeman and National Committeewoman, and the specific people elected as national delegates may also be critical. You cannot help in those battles if you are sidetracked as an Unaffiliated.
We also have liberal establishment Republicans we need to beat in the primaries from Renee Ellmers to Tricky Dick Burr, and lots of legislators. One can be most effective in those battles staying in the party.
I looked at that site these people promote, and it is a useless ”piss and moan” site offering nothing constructive to win the war.
I could respect someone who built an alternative Unaffiliated political organization that has the ability to recruit and support conservative candidates, which would be constructive for the conservative movement, but this site and these people do not seem to be about that. Looking at 2014, it would have been helpful to have viable independent conservative candidates in some of the districts held by establishment GOPers who had no Democrat opposition like Congressman Pittenger, Representative Stam, Representative Lewis, etc. That would have also been helpful in some competitive districts where both choices were really awful like Renee Ellmers district.
These people do not seem to want to work to win the battle. They just want to piss and moan, and they want others to pick up their marbles and go home right when we are starting to win the game. Nonsense!