Slide 10: When asked to describe in their own words what would make elections more secure, 47% of voters volunteered that Voter ID would make elections more secure
What follows is a summary of a Georgia PowerPoint presentation
And I would like to thank Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp and his staff for their assistance in providing the information on the Georgia ID program.
Slide 2: This is background information on the Georgia Photo ID requirement adopted in 2006. Note that is says - "No voter is ever turned away from the polls..."
Slide 3: Since 2006 the total number of IDs issued by County Election Offices 29,611. Another 1,155 have been issued by the Georgia Department of Driver Services. This is in a state larger than NC and demographically very similar. In reality, despite claims, there were not hundreds of thousands getting free IDs.
Slide 4: Costs for Voter ID - the total spent since 2006 is $1.7 million, not the big numbers you hear thrown around. It should also be noted Georgia has 159 counties versus 100 in NC. If you are looking for money to pay for this, the Political Party Check-Off funds might be a good place to start.
Slide 5: Voter ID education and outreach efforts, including Atlanta Falcons football players. We have plenty of pro athletes in NC.
Slide 6: Demographic analysis of turnout from a pre-ID election to post-ID election.
Voter turnout is up by double digits for minority voters.
Also in 2012 Georgia had a 72.2% voter turnout while North Carolina's was 68.4%
As the years have passed, North Carolina has moved away from people voting in their home precincts; it has allowed the state voter rolls to be essentially just a list of names; and we have made numerous changes affecting registration and voting. What we have not done is update ballot and voter protections. While we need to make sure ALL legal voters are given an unfettered opportunity to exercise their franchise, we must also ensure that those very same voters do not have their votes cancelled by illegitimate votes.
I would like to close by touching on an immediate benefit of a requiring a photo ID for voting. People who currently lack a photo ID will be brought more fully into daily life. We require an ID for many activities, be it buying cold medicine or cashing a check. Those opposed to requiring the commonsense requirement for a government issued photo ID to vote like to talk about voter disenfranchisement. What they never mention is by helping these folks get a valid government photo ID they will be helping them get more fully integrated into society.
Or is it that they really don't care if they fully participate in life? Is it that they just want them to show up once every couple of years to vote and slip quietly back into the shadows?
Do the right thing for EVERYONE - pass photo ID.
Thank you for your time and attention.
