Photo ID in the state constitution?

A bill in the General Assembly proposes a state constitutional amendment requiring a photo ID for voting. The bill calls for a referendum in the November election; a majority vote would make a photo ID for voting part of the state constitution.

Adding a photo ID to the state constitution makes no sense, except for this factor: the referendum on a photo ID will turn out the Republican base in an election that Democrats think they have an advantage otherwise. In the short term, it doesn't matter whether a photo ID is made part of the constitution. What matters is getting voters riled up enough to go to the polls.

A photo ID requirement is widely popular among conservatives, who are likely to go to the polls to express their interest in this "hot button" issue. If all the referendum does is turn out the conservative base on Nov. 6, it will have served its purpose.

Neither the supporters of photo ID nor opponents who think photo ID is a plot to reduce turnout among poor and minority voters will know what the referendum's passage would mean. The ballot proposal does not specify what kind of ID, when it would be mandated or whether other voting restrictions would be rolled into enacting legislation if the amendment passes.

Once the enacting legislation is passed, lawsuits will surely follow, and federal courts will strike down the most restrictive and flagrantly discriminatory provisions of the law. Amending the state constitution will have no impact if the courts strike down the implementing laws.

Other states have photo ID requirements, but North Carolina has not succeeded in passing a photo requirement that passes muster in federal courts. North Carolina is one of 14 states with no ID requirement for voting. Adding a photo ID requirement to the state constitution will not assure that North Carolina will be able to implement a photo ID law. Passing a constitutional amendment will not guarantee a voter ID requirement.

I personally do not object to requiring photo ID for voting, so long as any such requirement provides for simple and easy access to low-cost, widely available, non-restrictive photo ID cards for all potential voters. Widely available, cheap, accessible sources for photo IDs would thwart the intentions of those who see photo ID as a means of discouraging voting by the "wrong" people, but that is the only kind of photo ID the Supreme Court will allow.