FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 16, 2016
CONTACT: Victoria Wenger—Advancement Project at advancementproject.org, or 603-686-1647
John Stean—Media & Communications Coordinator, NC NAACP at john.stean, or 516-965-4875
Long Lines, Confusion in North Carolina Show Impact of Voter Suppression Law
Early Voting Lines Lasted Hours, Election Day Hotline Flooded With Calls
RALEIGH – Yesterday, and during a condensed early voting period, voters attempting to participate in this year’s North Carolina primary election confronted long lines and confusion at the polls. While early turnout surpassed recent records, voters had fewer days to cast a ballot due to the elimination of a week of early voting under the state’s monster voter suppression law, H.B. 589. At congested polling sites, voters in Wake County confronted lines lasting hours as they waited to cast a ballot within the shortened period. Yesterday, voters at the First Alliance Church in Winston-Salem stood in lines over 1 hour and 45 mins. Durham voters at the Ivy Community Center waited in lines stretching the length of the exterior.
“We are seeing in North Carolina the exact type of electoral chaos that happens when politicians manipulate the voting system for their own gain,” said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, president of the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP. “Our leaders should be in the business of making it easier to vote, not harder. The right to vote should be constitutional, not confusing.”
The retracted span of early voting was just one of several measures affecting voter’s access to the ballot. H.B. 589 also eliminated same-day registration, banned the counting of ballots cast out of precinct, cut a successful pre-registration program for 16- and 17-year-olds and instituted a strict photo ID requirement. Research reveals that these measures are particularly burdensome on African Americans, Latinos, students, seniors and people living in poverty. The North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP filed a lawsuit to challenge these provisions under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the 14th and 15th Amendments of the United States Constitution in 2013, immediately after the bill became law. A ruling is still pending from the U.S. Federal District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.
“The long lines faced by voters during the early voting cycle is the exact type of symptom we expect from a law that aims to limit when, where and how voters are able to participate in their democracy,” said Penda D. Hair, co-director of Advancement Project. A national civil rights organization, Advancement Project represents the NC NAACP and individual plaintiffs in their legal challenge to H.B. 589. “The confusion faced by voters attempting to cast a ballot yesterday – in large part due to misinformation from poll workers – is exactly why we call this a monster voter suppression law: it effects each step of the voting process, making it harder and more confusing along the way,” Hair added.
Two provisions of H.B. 589 – the ban on the counting of out-of-precinct provisions ballots and the elimination of same-day registration – are not currently in effect due to a ruling from the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals last year. Nonetheless, confusion around the law left many voters turned away from polling places and facing perpetual hurdles in cities including Greensboro. The North Carolina Election Protection hotline had to add an extra line to accommodate the influx of calls from voters facing barriers.
While H.B. 589 passed in 2013, yesterday marked the first election that the photo ID provision was in full effect due to a delayed rollout. Knowing the law in its original form would not withstand legal scrutiny, the legislature modified the law to allow voters with certain “reasonable impediments” – such as lack of transportation or a lost or stolen ID – to cast a provisional ballot if they were unable to attain the required ID before Election Day. Again, despite the current law, misinformation left many voters confused – or turned away. In Greensboro, several voters without ID were denied a provisional ballot for lack of identification. Others were told provisional ballots would not be counted.
“The hurdles posed to voters yesterday are unacceptable in a democracy,” said Rev. Barber. “Elections should be free, fair and accessible to all eligible voters. Our work continues until that is a reality in North Carolina. We will carry on our efforts in the courts, in the streets and at the ballot box to tear down the barriers that stand in the way of our fundamental right to vote. ”
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