Common sense: Appeals court ruling on voter ID is wrong

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that North Carolina's law requiring residents to show identification before being allowed to vote is unfair and unconstitutional.

We disagree.

The ruling was immediately hailed by Democrats, who had called the law racist. They say the law was specifically passed by the Republican majority in the state legislature to exclude many blacks, Hispanics and other minority voters from casting ballots.

We don't understand how requiring someone to show a valid ID at the polls can be construed to be racist. All voters -- not just minorities -- would be under the same constraint, one that is intended to prevent voter fraud.

Proof of personal identification is required for almost all other important activities in life -- to cash a check at the bank, to buy certain drugs, to get on an airliner. Common sense says it should be required for someone to vote.

Apparently, common sense is something the appeals court does not have.

Published in Editorials on August 1, 2016 10:40 AM