Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was in Raleigh yesterday for a business forum and blasted North Carolina’s new elections law, telling Gov. Pat McCrory point blank it was wrong for him to sign it, according to WRAL.
The new, sweeping law calls for voters to present photo identification at the polls, cuts the length of early voting and ends same-day registration and straight-ticket voting. It also makes changes to campaign finance and advertising regulations and sets up a separate presidential primary in February.
Powell scoffed at the idea that identifications are needed because of rampant election fraud.
“What has come out of the legislature is that fraud is widespread and undetected,” he said. “How is fraud widespread if it’s undetected? How can it be undetected if it’s widespread?”
