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NAACP Weighs In On Voter ID, Criticizes Board of Elections

North Carolina NAACP president Rev. William Barber, II, spoke to the media Tuesday about some of the state's controversial voter laws. (Source: press conference screenshot.)

The North Carolina NAACP is criticizing the State Board of Elections for not educating voters and poll workers on the latest election rules. The group held a press event Tuesday to share its views with residents and the media.

Given the changes and legal challenges to the state's election laws over the past few years, it would be easy to get confused about what it takes to vote.

Speaking in Durham, North Carolina NAACP president Rev. William Barber, II, said things like voter ID regulations have made it less clear to residents whether they can vote and where.

“What is happening is what we said would happen: that this bill would suppress the vote, would create confusion, it was unnecessary from the get-go,” Barber said. "And so that's why today we wanted to make sure that North Carolinians and the media got the right information.”

While the state is asking voters to present government ID at the polls, residents can still vote via a provisional ballot if they can provide their birthday and the last four digits of their social security number.

The NAACP has been fighting many of the new election laws, including voter ID, in the courts and in public.

The trial challenging those overhauls starts January 25th.

Sean Bueter joined WFDD in August 2015 as a reporter covering issues across the Piedmont Triad and beyond.Previously, Sean was a reporter, host and news director at WBOI in Fort Wayne, Ind., just a few hours from where he grew up. He also sorted Steve Inskeep's mail as an intern at NPR in Washington, D.C.Sean has experience on a variety of beats, including race, wealth and poverty, economic development, and more. His work has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and APM's Marketplace.In his spare time, Sean plays tennis (reasonably well), golf (reasonably poorly), and scours local haunts for pinball machines to conquer.

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