Again the dire “voter suppression” predictions of the anti-integrity left fail to materialize.
On March 15, some 2.3 million North Carolinians cast ballots in the Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian primaries for president, governor, U.S. Senate, and other offices. That comes to about 36 percent of all registered voters. The turnout rate was similar to the 37 percent who voted in the 2008 presidential primaries and the 35 percent who voted in the 2012 primaries. During the 1990s and early 2000s, presidential primary turnouts in North Carolina ranged from 16 percent to 31 percent.
This year’s primaries were the first to be held under a set of new election rules that included both a more compact early-voting schedule and a requirement that voters either show a photo ID or sign an affidavit attesting to one of several specified exceptions… None of these changes appears to have had a substantial effect on turnout. None suppressed the vote.
That “more compact early-voting schedule” – 10 days instead of 17 – drew a record high turnout of 11 percent, up from 8 percent in 2012. High turnout and few voter ID problems were reported by counties across the state, including Mecklenburg and Buncombe. Statewide, the number of primary voters with voter ID issues “was tiny: 0.1 percent.”