It may take a couple of more meetings of the House Elections Committee to get a vote on the voter ID bill. The pace of discussion at Tuesday’s meeting was very slow. The public was able to give input and it was emotional at times. Opposition groups thew up cost as one reason they didn’t like the bill but they also claimed it would prevent some legitimate citizens from voting. The Reverend William Barber with the NAACP told the committee it was discrimination.
Those pushing the use of a photo ID said the bill would prevent voter fraud. One woman testified there was clear evidence of voter fraud in her county.
After public input the committee got down to debating the bill but members didn’t get very far. There was more talk from Democrats of people being disenfranchised and a lack of evidence of widespread voter fraud. Republican Representative Tim Moore noted the courts have already ruled similar laws don’t disenfranchise anyone. As for few complaints of voter fraud Moore said that’s like saying if no tickets were written on I-40 today then no one was speeding.
Sounds like they’re creating lots of jobs over there!