RALEIGH, N.C. — Lawmakers from both major parties filed a bill Tuesday that would make it more practicable for campuses to comply with the photo ID requirement to vote coming in 2020. The legislation would also provide counties with more flexibility to establish Early Voting plans in odd-numbered election years.
Republican Reps. David Lewis and Jon Hardister joined Democrats Zack Hawkins and Ray Russell as House Bill 646‘s primary sponsors.
Democracy North Carolina’s Tomas Lopez released the following statement in response, praising the effort to expand student voter access, while acknowledging the need for more action to fully restore the state’s popular Early Voting options.
“We applaud this bipartisan effort to increase student voting access by making it more practicable for campuses to comply with the strict photo ID requirement to vote coming in 2020. We also acknowledge this attempt to provide more flexibility for counties to choose which Early Voting sites and options make the most sense for their voters, albeit only in odd-numbered years,” said Lopez.
Lopez added, “It is our hope that lawmakers from both parties will apply that same forward thinking to ending uniform Early Voting restrictions in higher turnout, even-year elections, as well by restoring the final Saturday of Early Voting that voters of all races, ages, and political affiliations so robustly use.”