North Carolina Republicans Push Extreme Voter Suppression Measures

Ari Berman, The Nation, on July 23, 2013 - 9:35 AM ET

This week, the North Carolina legislature will almost certainly pass a strict new voter ID law that could disenfranchise 318,000 registered voters who don’t have the narrow forms of accepted state-issued ID. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the bill has since been amended by Republicans to include a slew of appalling voter suppression measures. They include cutting a week of early voting, ending same-day registration during the early voting period and making it easier for vigilante poll-watchers to challenge eligible voters. The bill is being debated this afternoon in the Senate Rules Committee. Here are the details, via North Carolina State Senator Josh Stein (D-Wake County):

If anyone had any doubt about the bill’s intent to suppress voters, all he/she has to do is read it. The bill now does the following:

• shortens early voting by 1 week,
• eliminates same day registration and provisional voting if at wrong precinct,
• prevents counties from offering voting on last Saturday before the election beyond 1 pm,
• prevents counties from extending poll hours by one hour on election day in extraordinary circumstances (like lengthy lines),
• eliminates state supported voter registration drives and preregistration for 16/17 year olds,
• repeals voter owned judicial elections and straight party voting,
• increases number of people who can challenge voters inside the precinct, and
• purges voter rolls more often.

(More here.)