In a letter sent to North Carolina House members on Monday a coalition of election integrity advocates is urging House lawmakers to take up a bill passed by the NC Senate that would make voter ID in all voting forms a constitutional amendment.
The clock is ticking on the measure. In order to put the amendment before voters this November, it would have to be passed soon. The letter comes as both chambers are scheduled to return to legislative session on Monday.
Addressed to congressional candidate and House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, along with Majority Leader John Bell, R-Wayne, the America First Policy Institute spearheaded the letter and was joined by other groups including the Election Transparency Initiative and the John Locke Foundation, publisher of Carolina Journal.
S.B. 630 passed the State Senate in June and would add a constitutional amendment to the November ballot that would change Section 2 of Article VI of the North Carolina Constitution to read:
“Photo identification for voting. Voters shall present photographic identification before voting. The General Assembly shall enact general laws governing the requirements of such photographic identification, which may include exceptions.”
Bill sponsor Sen. Buck Newton, R-Wayne, explained the amendment’s purpose is to secure voter ID for all voting types, not just in-person voting.
“It would strike out in-person voting to make it clear that photo ID is required for any type of voting, absentee ballot, in person, whatever voting one may do would require a photo ID,” said Newton.
Opponents of the measure include left-leaning groups like the NAACP who call it’s voter ID requirements “redundant” and “anti-immigrant.”
“Such provisions not only risk disenfranchising voters but also perpetuate harmful stereotypes within our communities, eroding public trust in our electoral system,” the group said through a media statement in June when the Senate passed the measure 30-13, along party lines.
The North Carolina General Assembly is due to gavel in on Monday July 27 following an adjournment resolution passed June 26. That adjournment allowed for periodic returns to session for limited activity including action on gubernatorial vetoes, appointments, conference reports, or elections, in addition to a final sine die adjournment.
“No issue in election integrity is more fundamental than ensuring that people are who they say they are when casting a vote. We encourage you to pass S.B. 630 and allow the people of North Carolina to vote on this ballot measure.”
Jordan Kittleson, policy director for the Center for Election Integrity at the America First Policy Institute, told the Carolina Journal that voters deserve transparency and accountability.
“In a time of tremendous uncertainty in the security of our elections, Americans now more than ever are demanding and deserve transparency and accountability,” said Kittleson. “Recent polling shows that upwards of 85% of Americans of all backgrounds support strict photo identification requirements in order to cast a ballot. We call on the North Carolina House to pass Senate Bill 630 so North Carolinians can make their voices heard loud and clear in November on photo identification.”
Dr. Andy Jackson the Director of Civitas Center for Public Integrity at the John Locke Foundation says the importance of S.B. 630 is to require voter ID for all forms of voting.
“Voter ID is a basic election security measure that voters have long supported. The North Carolina Constitution already requires voter ID for in-person voting. S.B. 630 simply states that all forms of voting (including by mail) require an ID, treating all voters equally,” said Dr. Jackson. “North Carolina already practices voter ID for mail voting, so voters will not notice a difference if the amendment is added to the state constitution. But it would help protect voter ID from activist judges by giving it constitutional backing.”
Speaker Moore’s office did not respond at the time of publication.
Voters will already have a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November to ban ‘non-citizen voting’ in the state.