North Carolina’s monster voter suppression law disproportionately affects Black voters’ access to the ballot, according to a new study by political science professors from Dartmouth and University of Florida.
The Raleigh News and Observer reports:
“Changes made under the state law include eliminating same-day voter registration during the early voting period, cutting the early voting period by seven days, creating a photo identification requirement for voters and eliminating preregistration for 16- and 17-year-olds unless they turn 18 before an upcoming election.
“The study found that, during presidential elections, black voters have disproportionately cast their ballots in the first week of early voting and disproportionately register to vote during early voting. It also found that blacks are less likely to have one of the forms of photo identification accepted to vote. In addition, it found that those preregistered to vote as 16- and 17-year-olds also are disproportionately black. The study focused only on black and white voters.”
Until the 2013 law went into effect, North Carolina was known for its policies that engaged voters, including early voting and preregistration for 16- and 17-year-olds. The sweeping voting changes were signed into law shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, thus enabling the state to implement the changes without federal preclearance.
Read the full report by Daniel A. Smith and Michael C. Herron here.
Photo by Jeffrey L. Cohen via Creative Commons license.