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Saturday, January 11, 2020

North Carolina Voter ID Ruling Puts Security of Democracy at Stake

It’s a cornerstone of our democracy: Government is to be of the people, by the people, and for the people, deriving its authority from the consent of the governed.

These fundamental principles are at stake in North Carolina, due to a ruling from an activist federal judge on voter ID.

It’s amazing that we’re still having this debate today.

Presidents from Jimmy Carter to Donald Trump have advocated for the use of IDs to protect the integrity of the vote, and the Supreme Court has confirmed that states have the right to safeguard their elections. Thirty-five states have done so already, passing laws requiring voters to show identification before casting their ballots.

Against that backdrop, voters in North Carolina overwhelmingly approved adding an ID requirement to the state constitution in 2018. The General Assembly quickly took up the task of drafting a law to put that mandate into place.

The result was a voter ID law that is a model for the nation—making it easy to vote, but tough to cheat.

We got the system in place just in time for the 2020 election cycle. When North Carolinians stepped into the voting booth, they were to have confidence that their vote was protected.

But just a few weeks ago, an unelected federal judge tossed it aside.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

How can an unelected judge go against the will of the people? Somthin ain't right.

Anonymous said...

An Obama appointee. How unexpected.

Anonymous said...

Should be a Federal law to have a government photo ID to vote. In MD we have to provide a lot of personal info to get Driver License so we can enter government buildings. What is the difference? one you can't enter a government building and the other allows / means you can fix election results. Which is illegal by Federal law?