Bad Bill Of The Week: Restoring Early Voting Days | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: This post, by Susan Myrick, was originally published in the Bad Bill of the Week section of Civitas's online edition.

    They say "timing is everything", but it's hard to understand the timing behind this week's "Bad Bill of the Week"; House Bill 239, Restore Early Voting Days. HB 239's primary sponsors Larry Hall (D-Durham), Marvin Lucas (D-Cumberland), Garland Pierce (D-Hoke) and Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) are joined by 32 other sponsors — all Democrats in proposing that seven days be added to an already generous (10 day) in-person early voting period.

    The timing is interesting because not only is there a July 2015 court case looming over the entire piece of legislation that contained the provision that shortened the early voting window, but the provision was tested in the 2014 primary and general elections and came out smelling like roses.

    VIVA was the legislation that sought to unravel the confusion in North Carolina's voting system. It updated outdated campaign finance law, restored order to polling places, and attempted to establish fair and impartial solutions to voting problems that had gone ignored for years. One of VIVA's most important changes was the reduction of days for in-person early voting. All of VIVA's provisions were in place by the 2014 election cycle except for the voter photo ID provision which will be implemented in 2016.

    North Carolina is one of 28 states where any qualified voter may cast a ballot in person during early voting and no excuse is required. VIVA lessened the number of days while mandating that the number of total voting hours remains the same as in comparable previous elections. Beginning in 2014, the number of days to vote at an early voting one-stop site were shortened to 10 from 17. But the total hours of voting in the 10-day period was equal to the total hours each county provided in the previous general election. Moreover, all additional one-stop, early voting sites were to be open on the same days at the same times.

    So how did North Carolina voter turnout compare to other elections with the new laws in place? In both the 2014 primary and General Elections, turnout was substantially up from the last comparable election of 2010, especially among the African-American demographic. Even the mainstream media had to admit this fact. The Asheville Citizen Times published turnout number comparisons after the November election (2014 to 2010) that showed that every demographic (party, race and age) increased in turnout except for one — voters over 66 years of age and Libertarians. The largest turnout increases went to Black voters and Democrats in general.

    With these examples of increased turnout, why would the liberal/progressives in the legislature want to turn back time and revert to a less effective, more expensive voting paradigm? Poor timing and blatant politics makes HB 239 this week's Bad Bill of the Week.
Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




Governor McCrory Congratulates Duke for Winning National Championship Civitas Institute, Editorials, Op-Ed & Politics VIDEO: Independent Centers Challenge Higher Ed Status Quo


HbAD0

Latest Op-Ed & Politics

President Joe Biden took direct aim at Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during a recent interview, referring to him simply as “the guy who likes to spend a lot of time on yachts.”
The best way the county and city can help hold down inflation is to resist all tax increases
Pope Francis lambasted leftist gender ideology during an address this week, warning that it presented an extreme danger to mankind.
amnesty would just encourage more illegal aliens to storm our borders
The Christmas candy was barely off the shelves when the Valentine’s candy appeared. Red and pink hearts with caramel and nut-filled chocolate goodness caught our eye. We are reminded of how we love love. Young love, especially.
far left sugar daddy has also funded anti-Israel groups and politicians in US
Be careful what you wish for, you may get it
America needs to wake up and get its priorities right

HbAD1

Former President Donald Trump suggested this week that if he becomes president again, he might allow Prince Harry to be deported.
It's a New Year, which means it's time to make resolutions — even for prominent evangelical leaders. The Babylon Bee asked the following well-known figures in the faith what they hope to accomplish in 2024:
Vice President Kamala Harris will visit a Minnesota Planned Parenthood clinic, reportedly the first time a president or vice president has visited an abortion facility.
An eight-mile stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville has been temporarily closed due to a string of “human and bear interactions,” the National Parks Service announced.
University of Wisconsin tried to punish conservatives for the fact that liberals regularly commit crimes to silence opposition
most voters think EU officials not doing a good job on illegal immigration
Come from behind by GOP candidate is a blueprint to 2024
Biden spending and energy policies to blame

HbAD2

 
Back to Top