Great news out of North Carolina today: Governor Bev Perdue has vetoed her state’s proposed voter ID bill. “North Carolinians who are eligible to vote have a constitutionally guaranteed right to cast their ballots, and no one should put up obstacles to citizens exercising that right,” Governor Bev Perdue said in a statement after vetoing the state’s voter ID bill today. She continued, “We must always be vigilant in protecting the integrity of our elections. But requiring every voter to present a government-issued photo ID is not the way to do it. This bill, as written, will unnecessarily and unfairly disenfranchise many eligible and legitimate voters.”
Last week, we urged Governor Perdue to follow the lead of Governors in Minnesota, Missouri, and Montana, who all vetoed costly and unnecessary voter ID bills that had reached their desks.
So far this session, voter ID and/or proof of citizenship bills have been signed into law in Alabama, Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee (two independent voter ID and proof of citizenship bills), Texas, and Wisconsin. A constitutional amendment in Missouri passed the legislature and will be on the November 2012 ballot. A ballot measure in Mississippi will appear on the November 2011 ballot. And some legislators in Minnesota have discussed introducing a ballot measure in the next legislative session. Active bills in Alabama (proof of citizenship), Ohio, and Pennsvylvania have passed through their chamber of origin. A bill in New Hampshire is awaiting signature or veto.