Bill to match jury excuses with voter lists raises concerns
A bill that would use the excuses that let people out of jury duty to clean up voter rolls has raised concerns by clerks of court and some senators.
Posted — UpdatedFor example, a student who is attending a university out of state may be excused from jury service but could still be eligible to vote at his or her home address. On other rare occasions, people may be ineligible to serve on juries because they were immigrants but subsequently become naturalized citizens.
"This doesn't say what the Board of Elections is supposed to do with the information," said Sen. Angela Bryant, D-Nash, questioning whether a condition that might excuse someone from jury duty might not be the same as a condition that disqualifies the same person from voting.
"Are these the same criteria?" she asked.
The State Board of Elections has not taken a position on the bill.
But Brian Shipwash, clerk of Superior Court in Davidson County, said the North Carolina Conference of Clerks of Superior Court opposes the bill in its current form due to potential administrative problems.
"We've got a lot of concerns about this bill," Shipwash said. "We want to take steps so we don't exclude people who have a right to vote."
He and Wake County Clerk of Superior Court Jennifer Knox told the committee they want to help Krawiec achieve her goals, but they need time to suggest changes to the legislation.
It's unclear if or when the committee will hear the bill again.
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