North Carolina’s voter ID law was primary sponsored by then-Sen. Joel Ford (D-Mecklenburg), an African-American lawmaker who responded Tuesday to the latest developments in the legal challenge to his legislation: 

 

“Voter identification proposals often get caught up in the false conclusion that an ID requirement necessarily suppresses votes, particularly for African-American citizens like myself,” Ford said.  

 

“That concern requires vigilance, but it is no more an absolute truth than the charge that all opponents of voter ID support fraud at the ballot box. When I decided to sponsor this bill, I asked myself whether my late grandmother would have been able to vote under this legislation. She would. The voter ID law is a reasonable step to secure the most sacred act in our society.”

 

The voter ID law allows any voter without a qualifying ID to assert a “reasonable impediment” at the polls for why they don’t have a qualifying ID and still cast a provisional ballot.   

 

The law further accommodates religious objectors, provides for free state-issued IDs, and accepts a broad range of qualifying IDs including student IDs, drivers’ licenses, passports, military and veteran IDs, voter and state employee cards, and Native American tribal cards. S.B. 824 even allows drivers’ licenses from other states to qualify in some circumstances.

 

Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the voter ID legislation implementing the will of North Carolina voters but was overridden by the state General Assembly. 

 

The latest lawsuit challenging voter ID in North Carolina was filed just hours after legislation implementing the constitutional amendment became law.