Poll: Strong Majority of N.C. Voters Support Early Voting

“In order to make it harder for opponents of these right-wing policies to challenge their sponsors, North Carolina Republicans have unloaded the kitchen sink of voter suppression. As I reported in April (“7 Ways North Carolina Republicans are Trying to Make it Harder to Vote”): “North Carolina Republicans have introduced a series of bills in the legislature that would require state-issued photo ID to cast a ballot, drastically cut early voting, eliminate same-day voter registration, end straight-ticket voting, penalize families of students who register to vote where they go to college, rescind the automatic restoration of voting rights for ex-felons, and ban “incompetent” voters from the polls. The legislation has been dubbed the ‘Screw the Voter Act of 2013’ and ‘The Longer Lines to Vote Bill.’ The goal is to make this racially integrated swing state a solidly red bastion for the next decade and beyond.”

“Forty of 100 counties in North Carolina are subject to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, based on a history of voting discrimination, and must have their election changes approved by the federal government. But North Carolina Republicans, judging from the legislation introduced, are already acting as if the Supreme Court has struck down Section 5. If you want to know what a post–Section 5 world will resemble, without Section 5’s powerful deterrent and enforcement effect, look no further than what’s currently happening in the Tarheel state. (For more on the consequences of repealing Section 5, read this great new report from the Brennan Center for Justice.)”

We believe it is very likely that the legislature will try to rush these bills through at the very end of the session, immediately after the budget negotiations.

Senate Bill 721 would eliminate Sunday Voting in our state. Although Sunday Voting sites are typically only open for a few hours during the two Sundays leading up to Election Day, Sunday Voting accounted for 2.41% of all Early Voting ballots cast in 2012. Now some lawmakers want to eliminate it entirely. If passed, the end of Sunday Voting would impact African-American voters the most — and the impact would be significant.

In 2012, voting statistics show that African-American voters turned out well above their total voting population percentage for Sunday Voting, both compared to other voters and over the entire Early Voting period. In fact, 24,073 African-American voters cast their ballots on a Sunday during 2012.

Many of these votes were cast as part of a statewide Souls to the Polls campaign that is popular among black churches. Souls to the Polls is a perfectly legal initiative and no different from the voting drives that many other churches mount, including white Christian fundamentalist mega-church networks. These African-American churches embrace Souls to the Polls as part of a deep historical connection between faith and civil rights — a connection that has inspired many black churchgoers to take their commitment to being good stewards of those communities very, very seriously. Voting is the ultimate civil right and the honor with which black faith communities treat that right should be emulated by others, not outlawed.

We can choose here in North Carolina to respect the connection between faith and civil rights. We can choose to acknowledge that closing down Sunday Voting sites will not save counties any meaningful amount of money — but will be a slap in the face to a significant portion of our population. Or we can eliminate Sunday Voting and pretend that it’s not an attempt to cripple African-American turn-out. Let’s show the world that North Carolina has moved beyond the days of suppressing black voter turn-out. Write your state representatives today and tell them that you support Sunday Voting. Tell them that your faith in democracy leads you to respect the faith of others.

People using Same-Day Registration must show election officials an NC driver’s license, utility bill, bank or payroll statement, or government document with their current address on it. In addition, all registrations go through a verification process that includes confirmation of the driver’s license or Social Security number given, matching for duplicate names in the state-wide vote registration file, plus a mail verification of the address. If the ID or address presented is false, then the ballot is pulled.

In short, Same-Day Registration is a secure and convenient way of registering to vote that has helped North Carolina increase its voter turn-out and, as a bonus, helped keep its voter rolls up-to-date. How? Most people using Same-Day Registration are already-registered voters who use it in order to provide their new address or new name.  

The benefits of Same-Day Registration should not be underestimated. Before Same-Day Registration was enacted, North Carolina had a voter turn-out problem. Year after year, North Carolina ranked as one of the worst 15 states for voter turn-out. About one million voting-age citizens were not even registered, with 400,000 of them between the ages of 18 and 25. That meant that North Carolina had one of the worst youth voter turn-out rates in the entire nation. Same-Day Registration helped change all that.

The year Same-Day Registration was enacted (2008), North Carolina showed the highest increase in voter turn-out of any state and ranked 15th in the nation in voter participation — well above the national average. 2012, another major election year, saw Same-Day Registration retain its popularity, primarily among already-registered voters, who used it to update their information.

Same-Day Registration is clearly a vital component of NC’s electoral system and it needs to stay. Tell your state representatives to leave Same-Day Registration alone — it’s a voting option used by all parties, races and ages. The people of North Carolina have proved they want Same-Day Registration. It needs to stay.

Those were the words of a Florida elections official when asked by NC lawmakers whether or not his state’s curtailing of early voting hours during the 2012 election led to long lines on Election Day. Yes, Ion Sancho, supervisor of elections in Leon County, Fla., explained. Cutting early voting did indeed lead to those lines — and it was a nightmare for Florida’s voters and its election officials, one caught in the national spotlight for weeks.

What triggered the problems? Florida cut back early voting from 14 days to eight days in 2012. Lawmakers in the House and Senate have filed similiar bills that would curtail early voting in North Carolina. Please join us in urging lawmakers in our state not to go down that road. Let’s not turn North Carolina into Florida.

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The people of North Carolina clearly want Early Voting. In 2012, 2.5 million North Carolinians voted early. That’s more than half of all ballots cast. Plus polls indicate 78% of voters say they support Early Voting.

Early Voting is convenient – and people need that convenience given modern life and their busy schedules.

Early Voting prevents lines on Election Day. A shorter Early Voting period will mean longer lines at the voting booth on Election Day. People who must get back to work or who have childcare responsibilities will be forced to give up waiting and will lose their right to vote. People who are very old or physically frail will have difficulties waiting as well.

Early voting helps protect the right of all eligible voters to vote. Not everyone has a boss who lets them take off work to go vote on Election Day.  Offering the opportunity to vote on weekends and more days and evenings makes it possible for all eligible voters to vote.

It won’t save money. In fact, the state Board of Elections says shortening early voting will end up costing taxpayers more money because NC will have to add more polling places and buy more voting machines in order to handle the heavier load of voters who will show up during the shortened voting period.

The bottom line:

Voting should be free, fair and accessible because the right to vote is the basis for our democracy. Reject proposals that make it harder for voters to vote.

Write or call your NC Senate and House reps today and tell them: North Carolina is not Florida! Vote NO to any bill that cuts Early Voting days or hours.