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Attorney General fires off letter to McCrory urging veto on voter ID bill

NC Department of Justice
Attorney General Roy Cooper

North Carolina’s Attorney General Roy Cooper is publicly urging Governor Pat McCrory to veto the Voter ID bill.

Passed by the legislature Thursday, the bill hits McCrory’s desk Monday. 

In a letter to the Governor, Cooper calls the new voter ID legislation "regressive" and says it would restrict North Carolinians’ access to the polls. 

Provisions in the bill would severely limit working people’s ability to vote early and on weekends, says Cooper.   New voters wouldn’t be able to pre-register and vote as soon as they turn 18.   And people who mistakenly show up at the wrong polling place would not be able to vote.

Cooper also questions the need for voter ID – calling the requirements “unnecessary, expensive and burdensome”.

The Attorney General says the new law is likely to be challenged by the U.S. Department of Justice and a number of civil rights groups.    

The bill passed both chambers along strict party lines.  Every Republican present voted for the bill.  Every Democrat voted against it. 

Rachel hosts and produces CoastLine, an award-winning hourlong conversation featuring artists, humanitarians, scholars, and innovators in North Carolina. The show airs Wednesdays at noon and Sundays at 4 pm on 91.3 FM WHQR Public Media. It's also available as a podcast; just search CoastLine WHQR. You can reach her at rachellh@whqr.org.