The College Fix

Out-of-state Dukies may face an obstacle on their way to the voting booths in the next presidential election.

The measure is currently being evaluated by the Elections Committee in the House of Representatives of the N.C. General Assembly. Republican state legislators—who control the state legislature for the first time in more than 100 years—introduced the proposal and claim it would ensure the integrity of election results.

“The benefit of the bill is that it would negate the need for investigations into the accuracy of election results,” said Rep. Ric Killian, R-N.C. and a co-sponsor of the bill, citing as an example the 2010 sheriff’s election in Washington County, N.C., in which the close result was highly contested with evidence of election irregularities.

Opponents argue, however, that the bill would infringe on voting rights because eligible voters who do not possess state-issued photo identifications would have to go through the additional step of obtaining one before heading to the polls.

State Sen. Martin Nesbitt, D-N.C., said the proposal would impede many groups that traditionally vote for Democrats from voting, including African-Americans, the elderly, the disabled and college students. He argued that these groups often do not have state-issued photo IDs, adding that the requirement serves as a partisan roadblock to keep these demographics from voting.

“It is blatant voter intimidation—there is absolutely no problem with voter fraud. It’s a political bill,” Nesbitt said. “It’s fine to play politics. It’s not fine to disenfranchise people.”

Students at the polls

Out-of-state students can vote in North Carolina if they meet specific requirements, including living in the state for at least 30 days prior to the election and forfeiting their voter registration in their home states, said Mike Ashe, director of the Durham County Board of Elections.

But Senior Ben Bergmann, president of Duke Democrats, said the legislation would create an additional process that would make obtaining voter status more difficult. Duke Democrats are planning to attend a rally opposing the requirement and are circulating a petition among their members, Bergmann noted.

“[In 2008,] Obama lost every age group in North Carolina except voters under 30,” he said. “This is an incredible attempt to make it more difficult for college students to vote—it’s all designed to attack them.”

Representatives from Duke College Republicans could not be reached for comment.

Francis DeLuca, executive director of the John W. Pope Civitas Institute, a conservative think tank in Raleigh, said that Duke students should instead consider voting by an absentee ballot in their home state unless they plan to reside permanently in North Carolina upon graduation.

“If they’re going to live here permanently and pay taxes, then they should vote here,” DeLuca said. “If they’re doing it because it’s convenient, then I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Duke University is working through North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, an advocacy group for private institutions in the state, to address student concerns about access to voting, said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations said.

The group is lobbying to potentially allow private universities’ student ID cards—such as DukeCards—to be used as valid IDs at the polls, said NCICU President Hope Williams. State university IDs would be considered valid IDs for voters because they are issued by state institutions.

“A number of lawmakers have supported the idea,” Williams said. “The challenge is that private colleges and universities are not part of the government—there might be some legal issues with allowing those IDs and not others.”

Footing the bill

Some critics are wary of the costs that the state will incur if this legislation passes, as North Carolina will provide IDs to registered voters who do not currently have them.

The Institute for Southern Studies, a Durham-based think tank sponsoring research and educational programs geared toward advancing a better South, estimated that the new requirement, if passed, could cost the state $18 to $25 million over three years. According to the N.C. Board of Elections data, 556,513 voters did not have any record of a Department of Motor Vehicles-issued driver license or ID in their voter record or in the DMV as of February 2011.

The high potential cost of the measure needs to be considered in its implementation given the recent proposed state budget cuts, said Gunther Peck, Fred W. Shaffer associate professor of history and public policy.

“Class sizes in public schools are expected to increase this year [because of cuts to state education],” Peck explained. “This bill could spend millions of dollars to fix a problem that isn’t there.”

But Killian noted that Georgia—a state that is “demographically similar” to North Carolina—has not faced excessive costs since it implemented the state-issued voter ID requirement several years ago.

“Their estimate is ongoing, but it should reflect costs for North Carolina,” he said.

Yeshwanth Kandimalla is a staff writer for the Duke Chronicle, where this piece originally ran. He is a member of the Student Free Press Association.

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