LOD: State AG Slams Local ID Bills

As mentioned a few days ago, county commissioners in several counties have adopted resolutions asking for authority from the General Assembly to impose a voter ID requirement in their local elections. Now comes word that the NC Attorney General’s office that such an approach would run into constitutional problems for a number of reasons. NC Policy Watch posted the AG’s letter and some data from Democracy North Carolina. The letter from the AG to Gov. Perdue’s attorney says the constitution only permits the General Assembly to adopt “general” (i.e., statewide) laws regarding the registration of voters for election; local bills are not allowed. Different requirements in different jurisdictions would also violate the equal protection clause of the US and state constitutions. In addition, circumvention of the governor’s veto with a series of local ID bills is prohibited by the NC constitution. It’s hard to know if this advice will slow the Republican/Civitas effort to pass more local resolutions, but it helps blow a hole in the strategy. Democracy NC’s numbers highlight the blinders worn by local and state ID advocates; they don’t see a problem because white men with property (e.g., 26 of 27 commissioners who voted for resolutions) invariably have a photo ID. But go into poor communities and the picture is different. In fact, 15 of the 25 counties with the highest percent of voters lacking a NC photo ID are also among the 25 counties with the highest rate of poverty; and 13 of the 25 counties with the lowest percent of voters lacking a NC photo ID are among the 25 counties with the lowest rate of poverty. These correlations become even stronger when the county’s racial and rural make-up are factored in.