Sunday, April 7, 2013

NC: Voter ID Legislation Introduced in House

Via Tom

http://media2.newsobserver.com/smedia/2013/04/04/13/10/1oAPQu.AuSt.156.jpg

Bill would take effect in 2016 and increase requirements for absentee voters

House Republicans have rolled out their voter identification bill.

While it has some resemblance to the one vetoed in the previous legislative session by former Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue, it also has a significant number of differences.

Still in the bill are strict photo ID requirements for most voters. And most of the acceptable IDs voters can present remain the same — a driver’s license, DMV-issued ID card, passport, state employee ID card, or a tribal ID card.

The new bill would expand the allowable photo ID cards to include cards issued by the UNC and community college systems, or identification cards issued to firefighters, EMS, hospital employees, or law enforcement officers. Cards would be valid up to 10 years after they expire, and voters 70 and older could use the photo ID card they had on their 70th birthday, provided it was still valid on that date.

The state also would pay for ID cards and supporting documents (such as a birth certificate) for people demonstrating a financial hardship. A voter requesting free documents would have to certify, under penalty of perjury, that the expense for those documents would create a financial hardship.

“The citizens of North Carolina want some form of voter ID legislation,” House Speaker Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, said during a Thursday morning press conference. He said he believed voter ID would restore a “level of confidence” in the elections system.

 More @ Carolina Journal

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