Disciple: Get Ready to Vote

By The Rev. J. George Reed

Update: Portions of this article have been updated to reflect a September 30, 2014 ruling by the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that blocked certain provisions of North Carolina's 2013 election law changes.

In 2013, the North CarolinaGeneral Assembly passed, and Governor Pat McCrory signed, sweeping changes in laws regarding elections. Most of these changes are now in effect, though some are more apparent than others. It is important for every voter to know the new laws, however, so every voice can be heard through voting in the upcoming elections.

You may have noticed some of the changes already in place when you voted in the May 2014 primary:

• Early voting is shortened to 10 days. Though the total hours the polls must be open for voting has to equal the total hours from previous elections, the early voting period has been reduced by about a week, including the loss of at least one Saturday and one Sunday.
• Same-day registration is eliminated. Previously, voters were allowed to register and vote at the same time during early voting. Voters must now be registered 25 days before an election. (Update: Same-day registration will be permitted under the Fourth Circuit Court's ruling.)
• Provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct will not count. If you go to the wrong precinct, they will direct you to the correct place, and you will have to go there for your ballot to count. (Update: Out-of-precinct provisional voting is restored under the Fourth Circuit Court's ruling.)
• Absentee ballots must be requested on a form from the county elections board. The form requires you to give one of the following: a number from a Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) photo identification, the last four digits of your Social Security number or one of several documents showing your name and current address. You will then be sent an absentee ballot, which must be signed by two witnesses or one notary public.
• Touch-screen voting machines are banned unless they produce a paper ballot reflecting the voter’s official record.

Some of the changes in effect are not quite as directly visible but are no less important:

• Straight-ticket voting has been eliminated. Voters must mark their choices for each office. In partisan elections, the candidate of the sitting governor’s party will be listed first.
• Preregistration of 16- and 17-year-olds is eliminated, along with other efforts to sign up young voters.
• Only the North Carolina State Board of Elections can authorize polls staying open late because of a delay in opening or problems with voting. County boards of elections, previously authorized to make that decision, are no longer able to do so.
• Local political parties can appoint more observers to monitor what goes on inside each voting place.
• Any North Carolina voter can challenge another voter as not being registered or for violation of another rule. On Election Day, the challenger must be from the challenged voter’s county. In previous elections, the challenger had to be from the same precinct as the person being challenged. Public campaign financing and the tax return check-off are ended. This means, for example, appellate judicial candidates will go back to raising campaign funds from attorneys who may have cases before them.
• Campaign contribution limits to candidates and Political Action Committees (PACs) are increased to $5,000 per election.
• Corporate money can now be given to political parties and used to pay for up to three staff people, supplies, travel and fundraising. Previously, it could be used only for upkeep on the party’s building.
• Candidates are no longer required to appear in television advertisements and state that they “approved this message.” 
• The instant run-off process for appellate court races is eliminated.

What is perhaps the biggest change in voting laws has not yet become effective and will not until 2016. That change is the new requirement that voters must show a photo identification to be eligible to vote. Acceptable IDs are limited to the following:

• A North Carolina driver’s license. An out-of-state license will be accepted for 90 days after the voter registers in NC.
• A DMV photo ID issued to non-drivers, sometimes called a “walker’s license”
• U.S. passport
• U.S. military or veterans ID
• Enrollment card from a recognized tribe
• Student IDs are NOT acceptable, even those issued by state schools.
• IDs must be current, not expired, except for voters over the age of 70, who may use an ID that was current when they turned 70.

Voters who do not have an acceptable ID may apply for a free walker’s license from the DMV. They must show a birth certificate and, if their name has changed since birth, may have to produce a marriage license or other documentation. North Carolina Registers of Deeds must provide these documents for free, though voters may have to pay to obtain them from out of state.

Photo identification will not be required until 2016, but precinct workers are already required to ask voters if they have acceptable ID. This may create confusion around elections in 2014 and 2015, but no one can be prevented from voting due to lack of identification until 2016.

Once you've made sure you're ready to vote, don't forget to go out and do so!

The Rev. J. George Reed is the executive director of the North Carolina Council of Churches. Contact him at [email protected].

I'M READY - NOW WHAT?

Democracy may be imperfect, but the more people who participate in it, the better it works. If you’re a voter who is aware of the changes, has adapted to them and is ready to go in future

elections, we encourage you to help ensure your friends and neighbors are ready as well. If you feel moved to help others get ready to vote, keep in mind a few particular groups that may be more impacted by the new laws than others:

• Students. Those in high school are not encouraged to preregister, and those in college can’t use student IDs to meet the photo ID requirement.
• Low-income workers, especially hourly wage earners. Any time off needed to adapt to reduced voting options or to find documents to obtain photo IDs means lost wages.
• Women. Data indicates women are disproportionately included in those without driver’s licenses and are much more likely to have had a name change upon marriage.
• Senior citizens. Many of our elderly population are ready to vote but no longer have either a valid license or one that was valid when they turned 70.
• Racial minorities. The reduction in early voting weekend options and other changes are likely to fall disproportionately on racial or ethnic minorities.

You can help, whether through education, assistance or even just checking in with those close to you. Any effort you make to ensure your fellow citizens can join you at the polls makes a difference.

VOTING AND FAITH

Because of the constitutional separation of church and state, the role any church should play in government is a well-debated argument. When it comes to voting laws, however, there is less to debate. It can be generally agreed that when it comes to voting, the more people participate, the better democracy works.

So when only 15.8 percent of the state’s population takes part in a primary election, as was the case in May 2014, any changes to voting laws that have the potential to create barriers between people and the polls are cause for concern.

Advocacy and a deep commitment to social justice and the common good are roles churches have played since the founding of our faith. When it comes to voter laws, the church is naturally involved, as the core of the issue is not about political leanings or affiliations but about the fact that every citizen has the right to cast a vote and have his voice heard. The new laws threaten to impede that right for many citizens, and those most likely to be affected are the poor, the struggling, the elderly or infirmed, and the “least of these.” It is no surprise, then, for churches to want to help and ensure their voices, too, are heard on Election Day.

Too, many of us even see a direct message in Jesus’ words about rendering to Caesar. In our day, our “Caesar” is a democratic form of government, and one of the things it asks of its “subjects” is that they exercise their right to vote.

In December 2013, the NC Council of Churches revisited a statement it had adopted in 1961, at the height of the civil rights movement, and issued a 21st-century “Statement on Guaranteeing Suffrage, the Right to Vote.” It concluded with these words:

Gradual progress and continued struggle alike, however, testify to the importance of standing firm on the side of those left most vulnerable, when access to voting is reduced or eliminated. Today more than ever it is important that clear and conscientious voices be raised. Today we repeat the invitation and challenge first issued by church leaders who went before us, some of whom paid dearly for their convictions. We say again [from the 1961 statement]:

“Let us remove any intimidation or artful barriers and welcome all citizens to full participation in citizenship, particularly at the ballot boxes during election.”

Let us answer that call to action and remove the barriers.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
State Board of Elections  - Comprehensive information pertaining to elections, voting and candidates
NC Voter Guide - Information on new voter laws, answers to questions and candidate information
Democracy North Carolina  - Nonpartisan organization recommended by the NC Council of Churches.