Voter Fraud in NC? Not Nearly as Bad as Some People Say
The State Board of Elections released their objective audit a week ago and out of 4,769,640 votes cast in the 2016 presidential election in North Carolina, only one of them would have been void with the voter ID law. Last summer Phil Berger and Tim Moore’s voter ID law was struck down by a federal appellate court because it targeted black voters, so the 2016 presidential election continued without their restrictive laws. And then following the 2016 election, Pat McCrory accused several North Carolinians of voter fraud. Fortunately, the State Board of Elections has proved it’s unnecessary to question North Carolinians about voter fraud.
For years, Republicans in North Carolina have alleged that in-person fraudulent voting is widespread while Democrats have said it is non-existent. But no one knew for sure, leaving the two sides talking past each other on voter ID.
On Friday, the State Board of Elections released the results of an extensive, objective audit of the 2016 election. It found that 4,769,640 votes were cast in November and that one (1) would probably have been avoided with a voter ID law. One out of nearly 4.8 million.
When a federal appeals court threw out North Carolina’s restrictive voting law last summer, saying it targeted black voters “with almost surgical precision,” Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore panned the judges and questioned their motives.
“We can only wonder if the intent is to reopen the door for voter fraud, potentially allowing fellow Democrat politicians like Hillary Clinton and Roy Cooper to steal the election,” they said.
The election proceeded without the law’s many discriminatory provisions. Did the judges’ decision reopen the door for voter fraud? Yes, to one person in 4.8 million. Not quite enough for Clinton or Cooper to steal the election.
That said, all North Carolinians should value the integrity of our elections. The legislature and the Board of Elections must walk a fine line, doing nothing to discourage legitimate voters while doing their best to eliminate ineligible voting.
