RALEIGH — A week before the Nov. 2 election, a divided three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Arizona’s requirement that voters provide proof of citizenship before they register to vote. The court said the federal National Voter Registration Act — requiring applicants to sign an affidavit when they register swearing that they are U.S. citizens — offered enough protection to prevent fraud.
The court did, however, rule that it was OK for Arizona to require voters to present a state-authorized photo ID at the polls.
If the ruling were applied nationwide, it seems that the government would look the other way if someone who’s not a resident of North Carolina — including noncitizens — lied or used phony documents to get on the voter rolls. That person could cast a ballot, no questions asked, so long as he brought a picture ID (which itself may be bogus) to the polls.
This is nuts. And it’s why an early order of business for the 2011 General Assembly should be a new law setting tougher requirements when persons both register to vote and cast their ballots.
Every session of the General Assembly since 2001 has considered a bill requiring voters to show a driver’s license or other state-authorized photo ID at the polls. None of the bills has gotten out of committee.
Why the resistance to such a common-sense requirement?
Old-line civil rights groups claim that any measure requiring photo ID suppresses turnout and could lead to the “disenfranchisement” of racial and ethnic minorities. Fortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court already has dealt with those objections. In 2008, a 6-3 majority upheld an Indiana statute requiring voters at polling places to show a government-issued photo ID — either a driver’s license, a U.S. passport, or a state-provided non-driving ID card. The court ruled that the public interest in preserving the integrity of elections was more important than any burden individuals might find in obtaining an ID.
The way we see it, if you have to present an official photo ID to board a commercial airliner or enter a federal building, you also should be required to provide reliable proof of identity to cast a ballot.
When America’s founders (and their intellectual forebears such as John Locke) wrote “the law is king,” “a government of laws and not of men,” or “if men were angels, there would be no need for government,” they were stating basic principles that have helped our Republic remain vibrant and free for more than two centuries: People are fallible. Some are dishonest. A just society requires institutions and safeguards that protect the innocent from those who would prey on our weaknesses or misplaced trust.
Earlier this fall, state Republicans announced a 10-point plan they would introduce at the opening of the 2011 General Assembly. One item on the agenda: the so-called Honest Election Act, requiring voters to present a valid photo ID at the polls.
The new legislative majority should enact this measure without delay.
The preceding editorial appeared in the November 2010 edition of Carolina Journal.