Voter ID laws help protect elections: Gov. McCrory

Three liberal Democrat judges who overturned North Carolina’s voter ID law previously upheld in court got it wrong, undermining the integrity of our elections while maligning our state.

Photo IDs are required to purchase Sudafed, cash a check, board an airplane and even vote at the most recent Democratic convention. North Carolina implemented this common-sense measure to maintain the integrity of honest and fair elections, and joins more than 30 other states that require an ID to vote.

North Carolina took extra steps to ensure that all citizens could exercise their right to vote. Free identification cards have been available since the law was enacted three years ago to ensure all citizens could get an ID by the 2016 elections. Signing a form allowed voters who could not present a valid ID to still cast a vote. Hours for early voting were also extended over a 10-day period.

Courts protect voting rights: Our view

This set North Carolina apart from other states — including Hillary Clinton’s home state of New York, which doesn’t offer early voting — while helping working men and women take advantage of extended hours. These provisions, in place during the March primary elections, helped improve voter turnout.

In their ruling, the judges named by President Obama and Bill Clinton didn’t act as independent adjudicators. Instead, they proclaimed voter ID was wrong not because of the policy but the reason they believed it was done. Their determination is completely incorrect. Judges even had to rely on a disavowed Comedy Central interview to substantiate their opinion.

Claiming that requiring a photo ID to vote is a denial of constitutional rights based on race is an insult to the ninth-largest state in the nation. Citing limited cases of recorded voter fraud begs the question: If your house has never been broken into, do you still lock the door? The obvious answer is yes, and these false arguments defy reality.

These politically motivated attacks may make good headlines. However, we will appeal this erroneous ruling and continue to stand up for common-sense laws that protect the integrity of one person-one vote.

Pat McCrory, a Republican, is the governor of North Carolina.