Election bill bars college IDs from polls

The proposed election omnibus bill could restrict where college students cast their ballots.

The latest version of the bill, which passed the N.C. Senate Rules Committee Tuesday and was scheduled for debate Wednesday afternoon, would ratchet up restrictions on forms of photo ID accepted at the polls — nixing public university and community college IDs from the list of valid identification.

The bill, a more stringent version than the one passed by the N.C. House of Representatives in April, would also make it harder to use an expired ID.

Legislators paired the latest ID requirements with election-related rules, including a ban on same-day registration and pre-registration of 16-year-olds, as well as a shortening of the early voting period from 17 days to 10. Opponents have decried the host of changes as undemocratic.

More than half of N.C. voters cast their votes early in the last election, said Brent Laurenz, spokesman for the N.C. Center for Voter Education, during Rules Committee debate.

Opponents have said they worry the restrictions could shrink the N.C. electorate, potentially curbing college student participation.

“This is just a new attack on youth,” said Bob Hall, executive director of Democracy N.C.

UNC law professor Kareem Crayton said in an email the legislation could trim voter turnout in some minority groups that typically support Democratic candidates.

Low-income, elderly and nonwhite voters, in addition to young people, could have trouble voting under the new bill, Crayton said.

But advocates have touted the need for election reform, saying the legislation would ramp up election transparency and root out voter fraud.

“People will have more confidence in an electoral system with some safeguards, just as they prefer to deposit money in banks that have locks on the door,” said Jay DeLancy, executive director of Voter Integrity Project of N.C., in an email.

DeLancy cited a study by the right-leaning Heritage Foundation showing that similar ID laws in Georgia and Indiana spurred a spike in minority participation compared to demographically similar neighboring states in 2008.

On both sides, the debate is mired in ideology, DeLancy said.

“One side denies the existence of voter fraud and accuses us of being ‘in the tank’ for their opponents,” he said.

“The other side gets mad at us when we criticize their wimpy laws that don’t really fix the problem.

“We are just sick of the glaring vulnerabilities to the electoral system and the fact that politicians in both parties do not seem too motivated to fix them.”

Ending voter fraud is the ultimate goal, he said — one that should transcend party lines.

“The real question involves whether or not we want elections that minimize fraud as much as humanly possible.”

Still, opponents say the current system doesn’t need a tune-up.

“The system’s working well and does a good job of balancing access and security,” Laurenz said.

The ID policy’s 2016 launch date would allow the state time to prepare voters for the shift in policy, he said.

But the bill’s ban on college IDs could strike a harsh blow to the already tenuous youth turnout rate, Hall said.

“Also, out-of-state driver’s licenses would not be acceptable, so that’s a double whammy against … college students, and it will add more barriers that they’ll have to overcome,” he said.

Some college students who lack a valid photo ID might not try to obtain one, which could lead to a dip in the youth vote, Crayton said.

But the ban on college IDs could make some college students conscious of the long-term reach of their vote, DeLancy said.

He said students should vote in their hometowns using absentee ballots because their parents’ homes are more permanent residences.

And this approach is nothing new, he said — military personnel vote with absentee ballots in a similar manner.

The legislation would allow voters without valid ID to cast a provisional ballot and later present an ID to their local Board of Elections, Laurenz said.

The bill might lead to voter confusion, he said, which could leave some voters turned away from the polls.

“One voter being left out is … one too many.”