Editorial: N.C. voter ID law sets dangerous precedent

Just recently, the state of North Carolina passed the country’s worst voter suppression law, debilitating thousands of college students statewide.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed into law a bill that requires voters to display specific types of government-issued identification at voting polls — thereby restricting the use of student IDs for the same purpose. Another crucial aspect of the law cuts early voting times and eliminates same-day registration, among others.

“It’s clearly targeting student voters,” said Diana Kasdan of New York University School of Law’s Brennan Center for Justice in a recent interview. And she’s correct.

Students of higher educational institutions are being seriously marginalized as they now cannot use their student IDs to validate their identity when going to vote. For residents of North Carolina, a portion of students will be negatively affected by the law. For non-residents who do not have a state-issued form of ID, their , voting rights will be voided. 

“I will go as far as saying this is an attack on student voters,” noted Robert Nunnery, President of the UNC’s Association of Student Governments. 

In the case of Pennsylvania, the vote to pass a similar voter fraud law has been continuously pushed back. While it’s true that  Pennsylvania’s law is not as far-reaching, this new attempt to suppress the vote of college students could convince legislators in the Keystone State to follow suit. 

What is confusing is the problem voter ID laws are attempting to solve. According to those who author voter fraud bills, the main issue they cite is voter ID fraud occurs on an interpersonal basis. Particularly, those voters attempting to impersonate others are viewed as serious threats to the national voting process. According to the Brennan Center of Justice, however, the type of fraud targeted by voter ID laws is less probable than getting struck by lightning. It’s hard to believe that the problem being referenced is actually a problem.

The real problem is that voter ID bills targeting voter impersonation are simply complicating an already complex voting process. The youth demographic nationwide, especially the college-student contingent, posts astonishingly low turnout rates. It is difficult enough to register students and make it as accessible for them to cast their votes, and by restricting students’ voting rights even further with such legislation, further obstacles affect  students deciding whether to vote.

The new law doesn’t bode well for the GOP base chasing after the young liberal demographic, either. Limiting traditionally Democratic voters from voting is a pipe dream in a sense. “The way to do it is to make it easier for them to vote and then give them something to vote for that they can believe in,” noted former Secretary of State Colin Powell when asked about the subject. “This is not the way to do it.”