2 N. Carolina justices won't step away from voter ID case

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Two North Carolina Supreme Court justices — the son of a powerful legislator among them — said on Friday they won't step away from hearing a case that challenges a pair of constitutional amendments, one of which mandates photo voter identification.

Associate Justices Phil Berger Jr. and Tamara Barringer wrote separately that each believes they “can and will be fair and impartial” in hearing the lawsuit brought by the state NAACP. Both justices cited in part the will of the voters who elected them in 2020 to resolve judicial questions.

Lawyers for the civil rights group asked last summer that the two justices be disqualified from participating in the deliberations, citing conflicts. The attorneys pointed to Berger as the son of Republican state Senate leader Phil Berger, who is a defendant in the lawsuit that challenges in part the legality of a 2018 statewide referendum that enshrines a voter ID mandate in the North Carolina Constitution. And as a senator, Barringer voted in favor of holding the referendum on the voter ID amendment.

The younger Berger wrote that it’s plain that his father is listed as a defendant due to procedure in his official capacity only, and that the lawsuit is truly against the state.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/2-n-carolina-justices-wont-005456006.html

[madville]

1. Are there that many people left without a photo ID?

Or the ability to get one? I remember a previous lawsuit also against NC I believe, they managed to find a 98 year old man with no birth certificate who they claimed couldn’t get a state issued photo ID.

It’s pretty much impossible to be a functioning adult in society now without an ID. I guess I’m just used to it here in FL, we have had voter ID requirements since the 70’s and a photo ID requirement since the 90’s, there are many acceptable forms of ID though, doesn’t have to be state issued, they’ll take a credit or debit card with your photo for instance.

[dsc]

2. It was called a voter ID law but it was much, much more

but that said, the voter ID part was bogus. I live in NC and moved while the first iteration of this law was still in effect before being struck down.

I moved from one NC address (in Wake County) to one in Wayne County. So being a regular voter, I went about getting my ID in order. First I went to get my car registered at my new address. I carried my lease with me, just in case, but wasn't asked for it. So with no proof of address at all, I got my car registered. I wound up saving money due to a lower tax rate and asked how to do my license. I asked how to do my license and was told to go on line and order one. No request for a copy of my lease. It had my address slightly wrong so I went in person, lease in tow, and again not asked. I got my license, with the correct address. At no point in this process did I have to show any proof whatsoever that I lived where I said I did. Of course, I am white, and at that time a bit below 50. I am pretty sure that had I been black and young my experience would have been quite different. In any case, it did nothing whatsoever to fight any fraud I might have been engaging in.

[RandPaulsNeighbor]

3. It is Not ID that Matters

It is the types of ID's that are acceptable, options to get ID's that are not equally accessible, and it is the lack of the voter's ability to cast a ballot and later cure it that are the issue.

For example, in Texas, a hunting or fishing license counts, but not college ID (college ID harder to forge). And, in Alabama, they passed voter ID and immediately shuttered dozens of DMV's in largely black and rural counties, forcing them to drive great distances to get one.

Now, no, this one thing will probably not affect most elections. But, when you add to that gerrymandering, no early voting, limited or no vote by mail (dejoy's corruption of vote by mail), no ballot drop boxes, fewer polling locations in minority communities, lay challenges to voter eligibility at polling locations, bans on felons voting and the over felonizing of minor crimes, and, finally, the orange army's intention to show up and target Democratic voters for intimidation, you have a dramatic effect on the results of all elections.

No one of these voter suppression and dilution measures is enough to change most elections, but, together, they amount to enough to keep a United band of facists, bigots, and oligarchs, though only a minority of the electorate in this country, in power as their numbers continue to dwindle. So, we have to fight every single one of these voter suppression measures, no matter how big or small, because they all add up to a slow moving coup, the kind of coup that the Mitch McConnells and, even, the Liz Cheney's can get behind.

I will not even start on the prop

[rsdsharp]

4. I don't have a valid photo ID. My driver's license expired 20 months ago.

I haven’t renewed it because of health issues, covid, and the fact that I have a cataract which would prevent me from passing the vision test. I haven’t fixed the cataract due to the first two issues. But I need to, both so I can drive, and because my state has recently required a valid photo ID to vote.

Because my license has been expired for more than a year, once I get the cataract taken care of, I will have to take both the written and driving tests. Because of covid I’ll have to make appointments for both tests. I can’t make the appointment for the driving test until AFTER I pass the written test, so I’ll have to go to the facility twice; probably weeks apart.

I’ll want that drivers license to serve as a Real ID. In order to do that I’ll need to gather numerous documents. In my case I‘d use my birth certificate, SSN card, CURRENT VOTER REGISTRATION CARD, and a bank statement — none of which have my photo. Other documents can be used as well, such as mortgage documents or utility bills, or credit card bills — none of which have a picture. (BTW, I’ve never seen a credit card with the holder’s picture.). I do have my drivers license and passport with my picture, but both are expired and therefore can’t be used.

My point here is that while I have the time and resources to do what is necessary, that’s not true of everybody, and even for those of us who do, it is a gigantic, unnecessary pain in the ass. Voter fraud is a manufactured issue used to mask voter suppression.

Oh. I’d like to think I’m a functioning adult.

[MichMan]

5. Doesn't your state offer a state issued ID instead of a DL?

That would fulfill all the voting requirements?

You may want a Real ID drivers license, but that isn't necessary for voting, is it?

[rsdsharp]

6. You still have to jump through the same hoops, except

that it would involve one appointment instead of two.

And it doesn’t address the absurdity of using non photo identification materials in order to get a photo ID to address a “problem” that is virtually nonexistent. An absurdity that includes using a government issued voter ID card to prove who you are in order to get a photo ID to allow you to vote.
The process is the point — to make it as difficult as possible.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that I could have renewed my license by mail had I been willing to perjure myself that my vision hadn’t changed. That would not have allowed me to get a Real ID, however, and doing so would have left me open to prosecution.

[drmeow]

7. There is one credit card with the holder's picture

CostCo Citibank cards - they function as your membership card (which has a photo ID) and a credit card.

I suspect Sam's Club has something similar.

Of course, belonging to CostCo or Sam's Club are a relatively privileged status!