Voter Suppression Bill 'Attacks Democracy At Its Core'

RALEIGH – Last night, the North Carolina Senate tentatively passed H.B. 589, an omnibus voting restriction bill that could be the most suppressive elections law in the nation. The Senate still needs to give final approval to the bill before it goes to the House for consideration.

In response, Sarah Preston, Policy Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, released the following statement:

“H.B. 589 attacks democracy at its core as it is clearly designed to make it more difficult for thousands of eligible voters to register and cast a ballot. Many of these restrictions, such as eliminating pre-registration for 16 and 17 year olds and disallowing use of college IDs at the polls, will severely discourage young people from participating in elections. Others, such as shortening early voting and making it more difficult to set up satellite polling stations, will be extremely burdensome for elderly and disabled voters who rely on such methods to cast their votes. In a session marked by attacks on North Carolinians’ most basic liberties, H.B. 589 is one of the most shameful and severe. We urge the House to protect ballot access for all by rejecting this bill.”

Among other harsh provisions, the bill

• Eliminates same-day voter registration
• Eliminates pre-registration for 16 and 17 year olds
• Dramatically shortens early voting
• Eliminates state-mandated voter registration drives
• Requires voters to present photo ID, but does not allow many common forms of IDs, including those issued by colleges and public universities
• Makes it more difficult to set up satellite polling stations for elderly voters or voters with disabilities
• span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Eliminates the flexibility of counties to open early voting locations during different hours

Contact your House representative and tell them to vote against this law here.