Democratic state Sen. Malcolm Graham of Charlotte has asked Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate North Carolina's new voter law.“It’s a clear attempt at voter suppression, and it will disproportionately impact students, minorities, the poor and senior citizens,” Graham wrote Holder. “I urge you to come to North Carolina now and stop this law from taking our state backward. We should be approving laws that encourage every American to vote – not make it more difficult.”
The law, signed this summer by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, requires voters to show a photo ID starting in 2016. It also ends straight-ticket voting and same-day registration and compresses the period for early voting.
The Justice Department went to court in August to block a new voter ID bill in Texas.
Graham's letter comes a day before she's scheduled to talk about the law at the Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro and at a panel at Johnson C. Smith University. Graham is among several candidates interested in running for the 12th Congressional District seat that would become vacant if Rep. Mel Watt is confirmed as head of the Housing Finance Agency. The district runs from Charlotte to Greensboro.
