In their July General Meeting, held July 5, 2011, Beaufort County Commissioners voted 5 to 2 in support of not asking our representatives in the General Assembly to override Governor Beverly Perdue's veto of the "Voter Photo ID Bill."
In that general meeting, Beaufort County Commissioner Stan Deatherage wrote a resolution in support of overriding the Governor's veto of House Bill 351 and Senate Bill 352 ("Voter Photo ID Bill"). Currently, there is a clear 60% majority in the N.C. Senate to override the Governor's veto, but in the NC House, there is no clear majority to override the veto. It is worth mentioning, at this juncture, that every Republican in the N.C. House, including our District 6 Representative Bill Cook, voted for "Voter Photo ID," and every Democrat voted against it.
Republican Commissioner Al Klemm, who voted against the county commissioner resolution in support of the North Carolina House and Senate Republicans' initiatives, took issue with the way the Republicans wrote the bill. He stipulated, "if the Republicans would rewrite the bill to address my concerns over the elderly's ability to obtain photo identification, then I would vote for the resolution."
Republican Commissioner Jay McRoy offered no comment as to why he, like Commissioner Klemm, sided with every Democrat on the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners, and every Democrat with lawmaking capabilities serving in Raleigh, North Carolina, on this issue that has long been a Republican initiative - to end voter fraud.
Fellow Republican Beaufort County Commissioners Hood Richardson and Stan Deatherage both stressed how important it is to close the most important loophole in voter fraud: People voting who are not who they say they are. Both also stressed that provisions had been made within the construct of the current bill to protect the elderly.
The well-documented 5 to 2 vote pattern did emerge on this Republican issue; but the larger question remains as to what it may portend on Commissioners McRoy's and Klemm's future commission votes on issues important to Conservatives.
Here below is a copy of the aforementioned resolution:
Resolution to Request that our Representatives to the North Carolina General Assembly Override the Governor's Veto
Whereas, The right to vote in the United States, and the State of North Carolina is a right guaranteed to all citizens, by constitutional provision, to provide for the continued, or transfer of power in this Democratic Republic, and,
Whereas, that the sanctity and power of one Man's vote, as a law abiding citizen, should not ever be cancelled by the illicit power of someone voting illegally, and,
Whereas, it is now a fact that there is a vast community of illegal immigrants, whom reside in North Carolina by using fraudulent paperwork, and do very much benefit by the wrong-headed policies of some unpatriotic politicians, and,
Whereas, both houses of the North Carolina General Assembly attempted to make law in Senate Bill 352, and House Bill 351, which stipulates that all prospective voters in all North Carolina elections first provide a photo identification card to verify their identity, and,
Whereas, those aforementioned bills passed to effect said efficiencies in voting legal citizens do hereby provide for a variety of identification cards, providing they have a photo and are real, and,
Whereas, Governor Beverly Perdue vetoed both bills (SB 352, HB 351) originating in the North Carolina General Assembly,
therefore,
Let it be resolved, that the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners do hereby resolve that the North Carolina House of Representatives, and the North Carolina Senate must override the veto of Governor Beverly Perdue so that elections in North Carolina must be honest, legal and fair so that we may preserve the Republic, and continue it for future generations of freedom loving Americans.
Written by Beaufort County Commissioner Stan Deatherage and submitted to the Beaufort County Board of County Commissioners, North Carolina, for passage on July 5, 2011. Once passed, this resolution will be sent to North Carolina House Representative Bill Cook, North Carolina Senator Stan White, Governor Beverly Perdue, and the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners for distribution.
At least that has been my understanding over the years.