{"id":2197563,"date":"2024-03-12T14:43:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-12T18:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/loophole-in-weak-north-carolina-voter-id-law-lets-just-about-anyone-cast-a-ballot\/"},"modified":"2024-03-12T14:50:22","modified_gmt":"2024-03-12T18:50:22","slug":"loophole-in-weak-north-carolina-voter-id-law-lets-just-about-anyone-cast-a-ballot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/loophole-in-weak-north-carolina-voter-id-law-lets-just-about-anyone-cast-a-ballot\/","title":{"rendered":"North Carolina&#8217;s &#8220;weak&#8221; voter ID law allows almost anyone to vote due to a loophole"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Floophole-in-weak-north-carolina-voter-id-law-lets-just-about-anyone-cast-a-ballot%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2197563&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>North Carolinians who didn\u2019t present a photo ID when voting during the presidential primary last week were still permitted to cast a ballot, thanks to exceptions that Soros-backed groups supported including in the state\u2019s voter ID law.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>On March 5, more than <a href=\"https:\/\/er.ncsbe.gov\/?election_dt=03\/05\/2024&#038;county_id=0&#038;office=FED&#038;contest=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1.7 million<\/a> North Carolina voters were asked to show a photo ID to vote in the presidential primary, in the first major election since the law went into effect. Most of those \u2063voters appeared to successfully present an\u2064 ID and cast a \u200bballot.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-532844108\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3a71b64110eaeb025def54d025dcefe8 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3a71b64110eaeb025def54d025dcefe8\"><\/div>\n<p>Still, according to preliminary counts, <a href=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/dl.ncsbe.gov\/ENRS\/2024_03_05\/provisional_20240305.txt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">more than 1,000 voters<\/a> \u2064 cast what is known as a \u2062\u201cprovisional ballot\u201d due to \u201cID not provided,\u201d according to the state\u2019s election \u2063board (NCSBE). Of \u200cthose more than 1,000 voters, 546 later returned to show their IDs. But another 607 voters never showed a\u200b photo ID, instead simply signing a form claiming that a \u201creasonable impediment\u201d prevented them from presenting\u200d an ID.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Law Doesn\u2019t\u2063 Actually Compel Voters to Show Photo ID<\/h2>\n<p>The North Carolina general assembly <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/north-carolina-25c1633fd815ae57ca6c703a45c9d636#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">initially passed \u2062a series of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/voting-company-smartmatic-sues-fox-news-others-for-allegedly-running-disinformation-campaign\/\" title=\"Voting Company Smartmatic Sues Fox News, Others For Allegedly Running \u2018Disinformation Campaign\u2019\">election-related laws<\/a><\/a> in 2013. After\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-sending-800-additional-troops-to-border\/\" title=\"Biden Admin deploys 800 more troops to border.\">facing\u200d legal challenges<\/a> to the\u2063 voter ID requirement, the state legislature <a href=\"https:\/\/pdfserver.amlaw.com\/nlj\/7-29-16%204th%20Circuit%20NAACP%20v%20NC.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">presented<\/a> a revised voter ID law in 2015 that\u2063 included the\u2062 \u201creasonable impediment\u201d exception, but the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scotusblog.com\/2022\/03\/in-north-carolina-voter-id-case-another-question-of-intervention-driven-by-partisan-tension\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">U.S. Court\u2064 of Appeals<\/a> for the 4th Circuit nevertheless struck down the voter ID requirement in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans spent the next \u2063several years fighting in the courts to pass some\u2062 type \u2062of voter ID laws while North Carolinians <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/North_Carolina_Voter_ID_Amendment_(2018)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">voted<\/a> in\u2064 2018 to approve a state \u200dconstitutional amendment establishing a \u200dphoto ID requirement.<\/p>\n<p>Most recently, the North\u2062 Carolina Supreme Court \u2014 which had flipped from a Democrat-majority to a Republican-majority \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/politics\/north-carolina-supreme-court-reverses-electoral-district-voter-id-rulings-decided-last-year#:~:text=RALEIGH%2C%20N.C.%20(AP)%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">overturned<\/a> a past decision by\u200b the same\u2063 court and thus permitted the photo ID requirement to go into effect.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-8858077571ee4f363358c5019bc21b61 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-8858077571ee4f363358c5019bc21b61\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/codes\/north-carolina\/2016\/chapter-163\/article-14a\/section-163-166.15\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">current version says<\/a> that a voter who does not present a photo ID due to a \u201creasonable impediment\u201d may still cast a provisional ballot so long as he \u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncleg.gov\/EnactedLegislation\/Statutes\/PDF\/BySection\/Chapter_163\/GS_163-166.12.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">provides<\/a> \u201ca current utility \u2064bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document,\u201d his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/four-pinocchios-top-fact-checker-shreds-jim-clyburn-for-claiming-democrats-never-opposed-voter-id-laws\/\" title=\"\u2018Four Pinocchios\u2019: Top Fact Checker Shreds Jim Clyburn For Claiming Democrats Never Opposed Voter ID Laws\">voter registration card<\/a>, or the last four digits of his Social \u2062Security number and birth date.<\/p>\n<p>If a voter still fails to present any of those documents, the law says he can simply complete a declaration stating that he is who he says he is \u2014 aka the \u201chonor system.\u201d He must also designate on the <a href=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/dl.ncsbe.gov\/State_Board_Meeting_Docs\/2023-06-27\/Photo%20ID%20Exception%20Forms\/Draft%20Photo%20ID%20Exception%20Form%20In-Person%2020230623.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">form<\/a> that a \u201creasonable impediment\u201d \u2014 such as disability or illness, lack of transportation, lack of birth certificate or other documents needed to obtain a photo ID, work schedule, or family responsibilities \u2014 has prevented him from providing an ID. Other acceptable reasons include\u2062 a voter having lost his ID or simply \u201cnot know[ing] photo ID was required for\u2062 voting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The ID exception form is also accepted for mail-in voters who cannot include \u200da copy of their photo ID \u200dwith their ballots, according to voting <a href=\"https:\/\/vote.mecknc.gov\/news\/10-facts-about-ncs-photo-id-requirement-voting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">instructions<\/a> posted by the Mecklenburg County\u2064 government.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Nobody Will \u2064Be Turned Away\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Thirty-six other states currently mandate some form of voter ID, but Republicans who have worked \u200con election \u200dintegrity efforts say North Carolina\u2019s law is the \u201cweakest\u201d of them all.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a89bf213655beca90c93443170cbdb83 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a89bf213655beca90c93443170cbdb83\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cYou can literally put any kind of excuse you want on the \u2018Reasonable \u200cImpediment\u2019 form and be given a ballot. It\u2019s not hard at all\u2064 to vote,\u201d Chairman of the Lee County Republican Party James Womack told The Federalist.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis \u2018Reasonable Impediment\u2019\u2064 thing is really a\u200d weakness in the law, it\u2019s the weakest voter ID law in the country when you consider almost anyone can walk in\u2062 and say \u2018Oh, I lost my ID\u2019 and cast \u2062a provisional ballot,\u201d Womack continued. \u201cThey really\u200b didn\u2019t \u200dmake an attempt this year, in \u2062Senate Bill 747, to update anything that was \u2062in the case of \u200c\u2018Reasonable Impediment.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Executive \u2064Director of Voter Integrity Project \u200cof North Carolina Jay DeLancy <a href=\"https:\/\/voterintegrityproject.com\/voter-id-gutted\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote in 2015<\/a> after an earlier, similar version of the law was passed\u2062 that it \u2063was a \u201cstunning betrayal\u201d to all state residents who wanted to see \u201creal voter ID\u201d laws. DeLancy <a href=\"https:\/\/voterintegrityproject.com\/intel-response-rid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> at the time that, while he \u2062did not believe Republicans in the legislature purposely gutted the photo ID provisions, \u201ctheir\u2064 inexperience in\u200b election fraud analysis leads them to believe the new loophole \u2018won\u2019t be a big deal\u2019 in\u2063 our state.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Provisional ballots can theoretically be rejected, but those cast based on a \u201creasonable impediment\u201d \u2062to \u2063providing voter ID \u200ccan only be rejected if a \u2062county elections board unanimously finds that the information a voter gives in the ID exception \u200dform is false. It\u2019s unclear, however, how a \u200bcounty board would be able to discern whether a person\u2019s claimed impediment to obtaining an\u200c ID is genuine. Besides, Womack noted \u200bthese voters likely wouldn\u2019t be rejected due to a fear that lawsuits would be \u2062lodged alleging voter suppression.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2063 they did, this law, neuters the ability\u200c of the board to reject \u2063those ballots no matter how ridiculous \u2064the\u200b excuse is that the voter uses,\u201d DeLancy told The Federalist. \u201cIt <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/schumer-blasts-biden-for-haitian-deportations\/\" title=\"Schumer Blasts Biden for Haitian Deportations\">defies common sense<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>DeLancy told The Federalist he believes Republicans in the legislature thought they would be \u201cclever\u201d and include\u2062 the \u201creasonable impediment\u201d provision as a way to avoid having the voter ID \u200claw tossed.<\/p>\n<p>Womack speculated\u2063 that then-House Rules Chairman Rep. David \u200cLewis included the last-minute \u201ccompromise language\u201d \u200bto help the \u200dlegislation pass. He noted Republicans had to work in \u2063bipartisan fashion\u200c since, at the time, they\u200c did not hold a supermajority in either\u2062 state legislature\u200c and the Reasonable Impediment provision would alleviate concerns from\u2062 the left that there would be an \u201cundue burden on\u200b people who didn\u2019t have photo \u200bID.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Womack said the provision likely didn\u2019t \u2064get much attention since the legislation got stuck in \u2062the courts for years\u2064 but argued that now\u2064 that \u2063it has gone into effect \u201cpeople\u2063 are starting to expose its weaknesses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s all kinds of excuses you can \u200cput\u2064 on the form and you\u2019ll still be granted the right to vote, nobody will be turned away,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>DeLancy said \u2063the provision should be fixed ahead of November\u2019s election \u201cor else\u201d it leaves the door open for potential abuse.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Soros-Linked\u2062 Group Cheered \u2018Reasonable Impediment\u2019 Exception<\/h2>\n<p>When North Carolina\u2019s 2013\u200d law was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/nc-sued-soon-after-voter-id-bill-signed-into-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">challenged<\/a> in court shortly after it was signed, the leftist groups behind the legal fight included the NAACP and the Advancement \u2062Project.<\/p>\n<p>The Advancement Project\u2064 had received nearly $4 million between 1999 and 2012 from the Soros-funded Open Society \u2064Project.\u2062 The Foundation to Promote Open Society contributed more than\u2064 half a \u2064million to the Advancement Project between 2009 and 2012,\u2064 according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/advancement-project\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Influence Watch<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Later suits targeting the law were brought by other election-interference groups like the ACLU.<\/p>\n<p>When Republicans proposed a revision adding the \u201creasonable impediment\u201d exception to the law\u2062 in 2015, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/democracy-north-carolina\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Soros-backed<\/a> group Democracy North Carolina \u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsfromthestates.com\/article\/democracy-nc-back-provisions-voter-id-requirement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">spent weeks<\/a> \u200b\u201cencouraging hundreds of citizens to attend and speak out\u201d at hearings regarding the legislation, and celebrated the inclusion of the \u201creasonable impediment\u201d provision.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How many voters in North Carolina cast provisional ballots because they did not provide a photo\u2062 ID during the presidential primary, and how many of them never showed \u200da photo ID but instead \u2063claimed a reasonable impediment?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  North Carolinians who \u200bdid not present a photo ID when voting in the recent\u200c presidential primary \u2063were still allowed \u2062to cast a ballot due to exceptions supported by Soros-backed groups. These exceptions were incorporated \u2063into the state&#8217;s voter ID law.<\/p>\n<p>During the \u200cpresidential primary on March 5, over 1.7 million North Carolina voters were asked to show a photo ID. The majority of these voters \u200dsuccessfully presented \u2063their IDs and \u200dcast their ballots. However, more than 1,000 voters\u200b cast provisional ballots because they did not provide \u2064an ID. Out of these, 546 voters later returned to show their IDs, but \u2064607 voters never showed\u2062 a photo ID and instead signed a form claiming a reasonable impediment prevented them from presenting one.<\/p>\n<p>The general assembly in North Carolina initially passed a series of election-related laws in 2013, including a voter ID requirement. However, this requirement faced legal challenges, and\u200b a revised voter ID law was presented in 2015, which included\u2063 the reasonable impediment exception. Nevertheless, the U.S. Court of Appeals for \u2064the 4th Circuit struck down the voter ID requirement in 2016. In 2018,\u200c North Carolinians voted\u2063 to approve a\u2064 state constitutional amendment establishing\u2064 a photo ID requirement.<\/p>\n<p>Recently, the North Carolina Supreme Court reversed a past decision and allowed the photo ID requirement \u200cto\u200d go into effect. The current \u200cversion of the law states that voters who do not\u200d present a photo \u200dID due to a reasonable impediment may still cast a provisional ballot\u200d by providing alternative documents or completing\u2063 a \u200ddeclaration. The law also accepts an ID exception form for mail-in voters who cannot include a copy of their photo ID with their ballots.<\/p>\n<p>Critics argue that North Carolina&#8217;s voter ID law is the weakest in the country. They claim that anyone can make any excuse on the reasonable impediment form and still be given a ballot. Republicans who have worked on election\u200c integrity efforts express concerns about the law&#8217;s weaknesses and believe that it \u200cdoes not effectively ensure\u2064 voter ID.<\/p>\n<p>The law allows \u2062provisional ballots based on\u2064 a reasonable impediment to providing voter ID to be\u2064 rejected only if a county elections board unanimously finds that the information provided is \u2062false. However, it is unclear how a county board\u200b would\u200b determine the \u2062genuineness of a\u200b claimed impediment. Critics argue that the law limits \u200bthe ability\u2064 of \u2064the board to reject these ballots, regardless of how ridiculous the voter&#8217;s excuse may be.<\/p>\n<p>Critics also believe that the inclusion\u2064 of the reasonable impediment \u200cprovision was a strategic move \u200cby Republicans to prevent the voter ID law from being overturned. They suggest that the provision was added \u2063to alleviate concerns from the left and gain bipartisan support.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, the voter ID law in\u200b North Carolina allows exceptions for voters who do not present a photo ID due to reasonable impediments. These exceptions have been criticized for weakening \u2062the effectiveness of the \u200dlaw and possibly hindering\u200c efforts \u200bto ensure voter ID. \u2063Critics argue that the\u200d law&#8217;s provisions make it relatively easy for voters to cast a \u2063ballot without providing the required\u2063 identification.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vote in the presidential primary. However, those who didn&#8217;t have a photo ID were still allowed to vote due to exceptions supported by Soros-backed organizations. These exceptions were included in the state&#8217;s voter ID law. Over 1.7 million voters were affected by this requirement on March 5<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2197564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Voter_ID-e1710250595428.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2197563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Voter_ID-e1710250595428.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2197563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2197563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2197563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2197564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2197563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2197563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2197563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}