North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory defended the controversial voter ID law he signed into law in August, arguing that opposition is purely political.
“Voter ID laws are common sense,” McCrory told The Daily Rundown’s Chuck Todd on Wednesday from Scottsdale, Ariz., where he is attending the Republican Governors Association meeting. “We require an ID to get Sudafed in North Carolina, to get food stamps in North Carolina.”
He also said that the law didn’t shorten early voting — despite the fact that it reduces the early voting period from 17 to 10 days, and ended same-day voter registration.
“We didn’t shorten early voting — we compacted the calendar,” McCrory said arguing that the bill wasn’t aimed at early voting that typically trends Democratic.
“We’re going to have the same hours in which polls are open in early voting,and we’re going to have more polls available. It’s going to be almost identical,” said McCrory. “It’s just the schedule has changed. The critics are kind of using that line, when in fact the legislation doesn’t shorten the hours for early voting.”
The law also requires voters to show specific types of ID at polling places.
McCrory said that the law still has over 80% approval in the state, and that reaction to the law wasn’t “as divisive as the national media” makes it out to be.
However, a PPP poll taken shortly after the law was signed showed broad opposition among his constituents. Only 33% of voters in the state supported reducing the early voting period by a week.
The Department of Justice has filed to block the law, but the GOP governor even argued that too was a political move.
“Some of the voter ID controversy is more created than real,” said McCrory, who pointed out that it was “ironic”they were being sued by the DOJ even though other states, like New York, don’t even offer early voting.
“If you survey most Democrats, they also agree with our laws and voter ID,” said McCrory. “I think it’s a common sense law, and I think it’s much ado about nothing in trying to protect the integrity of the voter booth.”
Jessica Taylor