May 18, 2013
The head of the North Carolina NAACP is comparing Republican attempts to require photo identification to vote to a "poll tax," and says he and his allies will fight it at the Legislature and in court if it's approved.
The Rev. William Barber of the state chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People made the comments Thursday at a news conference.
House GOP leaders have announced how they will craft a voter ID bill by next month and asked opponents to offer suggestions. Barber calls that idea window-dressing.
Republicans say they want a bill that offers free IDs to people who don't have them.
A poll tax was levied as a qualification to vote in federal elections. The 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution eliminated it.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
