Press release from NC General Assembly on 4th Circuit Ruling

Published October 2, 2014

Published in The Locker Room, The John Locke Foundation's Statewide Issues Blog, October 1, 2014.

This press release was just sent from the North Carolina General Assembly.  If you want to contact someone about this, you can call Shelly Carver in Senate Pro Temp Berger’s office at 919-301-1744 or Anna Roberts in Speaker Tillis’ office at 919-733-5917.

Raleigh, N.C. – Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Speaker Thom Tillis (R-Mecklenburg) issued the following joint statement Wednesday in response to a ruling by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals:

“We are pleased the court upheld the lion’s share of commonsense reforms that bring North Carolina in line with a majority of other states, including the implementation of a popular voter ID requirement supported by nearly three quarters of North Carolinians.

“However, we share the concern of Judge Diana Gribbon Motz – the panel’s senior judge – that rewriting reasonable rules requiring people to vote in their own precinct and register in advance will strain our voting system, confuse voters and disrupt our general election that is only a month away. We intend to appeal this decision as quickly as possible to the Supreme Court.”

Background

North Carolina’s election reform law guarantees at least the same number of overall hours for early voting as in previous elections unless a bipartisan group of election officials chooses to modify those hours – in sharp contrast to several other states, including New York and Michigan, that do not allow early voting at all.

According to the State Board of Elections, the 2014 general election will have more early voting locations across North Carolina than in any prior off-year election and nearly 70 percent more evening hours for early voting than in 2010, the most recent non-presidential general election.

The law allows time to verify voter information by repealing same-day registration, ensuring accuracy and bringing North Carolina in line with 30 other states that do not have same-day registration.

It also requires voters to cast ballots in their own precinct, ensuring their votes are counted for every race, not just statewide races. If out-of-precinct ballots are allowed, votes for local races could be invalidated.

http://lockerroom.johnlocke.org/2014/10/01/press-release-from-nc-general-assembly-on-4th-circuit-ruling/