Group says restrictions denied hundreds of votes in North Carolina
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- There's still another two years before voter ID goes into effect in North Carolina. However, outside the Board of Elections in Raleigh Wednesday, government watchdog group, Democracy NC, argued the rules already in place are harming North Carolina voters.
"This is a case of people who are suffering from the new law", said Democracy NC Director Bob Hall.
Democracy NC made its case that the state's new Republican-backed election rules are turning voters into victims.
"Politicians should not be able to choose their own voters," said Sarah Preston, a policy analyst at ACLU of North Carolina.
The changes got their first test in last May's primary elections. Early voting was reduced a week, same-day registration was eliminated, and out of precinct voting was no longer allowed.
With pictures of their faces, Democracy NC cited 400 cases from May of North Carolina voters whose votes would have counted in 2012 (before the law took effect), but did not in 2014 because of the new rules. The voters included a nurse, an Afghanistan veteran, and even a registered poll worker.
"All those individuals had the same opportunity that we did to register 25 days ahead of the election," said Susan Myrick, an election policy analyst at the conservative Civitas Institute. Myrick supported the new rules.
Myrick argues voter turnout numbers from May provided by the state Board of Elections prove critics are wrong to say the rules will disenfranchise black, elderly, and younger voters. "Turnout overall increased and African-American turnout increased even more than that, by almost 30 percent," Myrick said.
Democracy NC calls the May numbers a special case of hotly-contested county elections that drove up turnout.
"Halifax County for example had some hot county commission races and their African-American participation was way up," said Hall.
Just Tuesday, a federal appeals court agreed to hear arguments on whether to suspend the new voting laws for the new November election. The court expedited the case, setting a Sept. 27 court date.
Critics of the election law say they're encouraged by the quickness of the court, suggesting it the court understands what's at stake.
