Van Duyn attempt to slow NC voter ID bill fails; it goes to Gov. Cooper

RALEIGH – The state General Assembly sent a voter ID bill to Gov. Roy Cooper Thursday after a last-minute attempt by Sen. Terry Van Duyn to delay a vote failed.

Van Duyn, D-Buncombe, moved to table the bill for now to give time for the legislature to address the growing absentee ballot scandal in southeastern North Carolina that has thrown the result of the state's 9th District U.S. House race into question.

The Senate voted that idea down 23-8 on a party-line vote, with Republicans voting to move the bill ahead. The Senate then voted 25-7 to concur with the House version of the bill, the last step needed to send the measure to Cooper.

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Republican Mark Harris was the apparent winner of the tight race to represent the 9th District, which stretches from Charlotte east to Fayetteville and counties to Fayetteville's south.

Harris had about 900 votes more than Democrat Dan McCready, but numerous reports have since emerged that people working for a firm paid by Harris's campaign collected absentee ballots from voters in Bladen County in violation of state law, raising concerns of fraud.

Harris won an unusually large share of absentee votes and there was also an unusually large number of absentee ballots requested but not returned to election officials. State law says only a family member or legal guardian may drop off absentee ballots for a voter.

Van Duyn, who is Senate minority whip, and Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue, D-Wake, described the situation as "an electoral crisis" in a joint statement.

They called a special election in the district "the strongest remedy we can offer voters.

"As a governing body, we can restore some faith in this system of government. We urge every Senate member to vote to table this bill until after the investigation is complete and a remedy is determined," Van Duyn and Blue said.

Such a delay would probably push consideration of the voter ID bill into 2019, when Democratic gains in the General Assembly won in this year's general election would take effect. Democrats will still be in the minority in the House and Senate next year, but they will have enough members in each chamber to uphold gubernatorial vetoes.

Legislative Republicans avoided worries that Cooper might block their voter ID bill by holding an unusual post-election session while they still have enough votes to override a veto. The issue would ordinarily be taken up in a session that begins in January.

The state's voters approved a referendum in November to require that people have a photo ID in order to vote.

At issue now are questions including what kind of ID will be acceptable, what help the state may give people who don't have an ID to get one and what procedures will be used when people have problems getting an ID.

The bill says several common forms of ID like driver's licenses, military IDs and passports will be accepted, and county elections boards will issue voter registration cards with photos.

A previous North Carolina voter ID law was overturned by the courts as part of a series of changes judges said unconstitutionally targeted minority voters, making it more difficult for them to cast ballots.

Unlike the earlier law, the new bill would allow many college and university IDs to be used for voting and adds the IDs to be issued by elections boards.

Western North Carolina legislators have voted entirely along party lines, with Democrats opposed and Republicans in favor, on the bill.