Now That the Voting Rights Law Has Been Gutted by the Supreme Court

North Carolina Joins Other Republican Controlled States in Gutting Voting Rights

One difference between Conservatives and the rest of us is that the rest of us see elections as a fair fight, and that the right to vote should not be obstructed in order to win elections.  Conservatives see their cause as so righteous, so correct, so ordained by the Deity that any tactics can be employed.

So now that the Supreme Court has ruled that the Voting Rights bill is partly unconstitutional (namely the part that actually protects voting rights) Republicans are rushing to make voting harder and more difficult for groups of voters they see as inimical to Republicans.  In North Carolina, where the GOP is giddy with new acquired power there is this.

RALEIGH — Resurrecting one of the legislative session’s most contentious issues, Senate Republicans unveiled a new voter ID bill Thursday that would further restrict the forms of photo identification accepted at the polls.

The new measure would require voters to show one of seven types of photo identification issued by the government, such as driver’s licenses, passports, non-driver IDs and military or veteran cards.

It eliminates about half the types of photo identification allowed under the House version, including cards from UNC system colleges, state community colleges, local governments, private employers and law enforcement agencies. The bill would take full effect in the 2016 elections.

Although there were rumors that Republicans planned to exempt any voter ID requirements for persons who could show they were voting the straight Republican ticket, these proved to be unfounded as Republican leaders stated that they felt reducing the number of voters likely to vote Democratic would be enough to allow them to win elections they might otherwise lose.