North Carolina has come one step closer to getting a voter ID law. As previously discussed on our blog, Arizona and Georgia already have such laws requiring their residents to present a photo ID to cast a ballot. In North Carolina, House Bill 351 was filed by Republicans late on March 14, 2011. The bill consists of six parts and would require photo identification, or the voter must cast a provisional ballot.

According to the Charlotte Observer, House Republicans pushed a voter identification bill through a committee Wednesday. Republicans say the law will discourage voter fraud. Opponents, on the other hand, claim it could disenfranchise potentially hundreds of thousands of current voters.

The House Election Committee voted along party lines 18-14 for a bill requiring potential voters to show one of eight forms of photo identification. County election boards would begin offering free voter identification cards, although state and federal funds would foot the bill for the card machines. Special ID cards issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles also would be offered for free.

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(c) Picture: State of North Carolina – statelawyers.com