North Carolina GOP Voter Suppression Legislation

As outlined here in The Nation and here in The Charlotte Observer, the Republican-controlled North Carolina legislature is working on passing not one, not two, but seven different ways to suppress (presumably Democratic) voting.  At least one of these is obviously un-Constitutional.

1. Voters will now be required to show a government-issued photo ID at the polls.  The only good provision here is that they will accept drivers' licenses that have expired within the last 10 years, and people who are 70 and over don't need to get new IDs.  Of course, they put these exceptions in because the GOP base tends to be older people.
2. The early voting period would be cut from two and a half weeks to one week, and no voting would be allowed on the Sunday before Election Day.  That Sunday, of course, is the traditional day for black churches to gather folks by bus to go to the polls.
3. The provision of the bill that is obviously un-Constitutional is one that the Republicans really had to contort themselves to come up with.  I mean, this really took some creativity on their part, I have to say.  The provision involves eliminating the $2,500 tax credit parents can claim for their children if that child votes at the college he or she attends.  That's right, folks... the GOP wants to tax parents of kids who vote at their college $2,500.  That's called a poll tax, and it's illegal as hell.
4. Straight-party voting will be ended.  How the GOP thinks this will help them is beyond my imagination, but nonetheless this is part of the bill.
5. No more same-day voter registration.  After all, you wouldn't want to make it easier for people to vote now,  would you?  I guess the Republicans are assuming that since the bulk of their base is old, white and male, they're registered as Republicans already.
6. Former felons would have to wait five years after serving their sentences and go through a lot of red tape to get back their right to vote.  They would have to apply to the Board of Elections, get a unanimous vote from them that they can get their rights back, and supply two affidavits testifying to their "moral character."  No, I'm not kidding.
7. People with mental disabilities judged to be "incompetent," even if they are capable of understanding the issues, the candidates and the voting process, would be unable to vote.

Republican Governor Pat McCrory has said he will sign the bill if it passes. 

I find it incredibly sad that North Carolina, which is a state that has such wonderful scenery, from mountains to the ocean and everything in between, has had its legislature taken over by the extreme right-wing nutcases who now control it.  North Carolina will be hurt by this, from companies that will refuse to move jobs there because of this extremism, to the best and brightest people who will leave or never move to the state.

Eventually North Carolina will be blue, and permanently so, no matter what the Republicans try to do to stop it.  The demographics are inevitable.  In the meantime, instead of showing themselves to be reasonable and intelligent people, the right-wing extremists who now control the state are making it obvious that they are willing to stoop to any sleazy trick in the book -- and a few new ones they'll make up as they go -- to at least temporarily hang onto power.  It's pathetic.  There is no voter fraud problem, and they know it just like everyone knows it.  If they're willing to put together a vote-rigging scheme like this just after their party lost so overwhelmingly on a national basis a few months ago, then they deserve for the Democrats in the state to do everything in their power to run them out of office.

It's just too bad tarring and feathering are illegal, because that's what these guys deserve.