Why don't you help insure honest elections. Read this to find out how. | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.

    There's been a great deal said in recent weeks about H 589, the Voter Information Verification Act. But in many ways the "best is yet to come."

    In North Carolina the General Assembly enacts General Statutes, such as H 589. Then various state boards and commissions write Administrative Regulations to implement those statutes. Those regulations are published in the N. C. Administrative Code. It is these regulations that are often much more important than the law itself. The regulations carry the same enforceable weight as the statute itself, and are therefore "law" for us as much as what the General Assembly has enacted. It is in the details of the Administrative Regulations that the "meat" is put on the bones of the law.

    We are about to see this process play out in one of the most important areas of law that we have seen in the last half century. H 589 was the first major election law reform in decades. The concomitant regulations will be what actually cleans up the elections process in the state, even more than the specifics of the statute itself.

    The N. C. Board of Elections last week posted the first set of Administrative Code revisions. You can review them by clicking here. You will note that the State Board of Elections will conduct a public hearing on September 18 at 10:00 a.m. at its offices at 441 N. Harrington Street in Raleigh. Written comments may also be submitted between Friday, August 23, 2013 and September 16, 2013 to: george.mccue@ncsbe.gov.

    The initial set of regulations deal with implementation of Section 4.6.(b) of H 589. This section provides for "Voter Assistance Teams" that will be used to assist residents of hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and rest homes in casting absentee ballots. Presumably, future regulations will be adopted to deal with voter assistance at the polls on Election Day.

    It is important that anyone with ideas, comments or suggestions file written comments or speak at the public hearing. This is particularly true if you have someone in an institution.

    Commentary

    Voter fraud is serious business. For every voter who votes illegally or inappropriately that is a vote of a legitimate voter that is canceled. The fundamental intent of Section 4.6.(b) is to insure that those who are institutionalized are not taken advantage of by unscrupulous people who would try to use the resident's right to vote as a way to "stuff the ballot box" with ballots that do not actually represent the true will of the voter but rather that of people who used these residents to further their own political goals. These people often pull this ballot box stuffing by telling the voter who they should vote for and in some cases simply mark the voter's ballot for them.

    We think this is one of the most important reforms this new law makes. While there has been much 'weeping and gnashing of teeth' by some who whine about voter suppression, note that the regulations do not at all interfere with the right of people in institutions. It simply seeks to insure that their vote is actually cast the way they want it cast. The basic methodology is to have two trained 'assisters,' one from each political party, available to help the voter if desired. The idea, of course, is that having bipartisan teams will do much to prevent abuse of these voters' rights.

    We commend the General Assembly and the State Board of Elections for their efforts here to make our elections once again legitimate in North Carolina. And we urge you to inform yourself and participate in this process. Who knows, you may be one of these residents someday.

    And one good way for you to participate is to volunteer to serve on one of the Voter Assistance Teams. Contact your local Board of Elections to do so. In Beaufort County the location of the Board of Elections can be found by clicking here.

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