A detailed review of the costs associated with HB 351, the Voter Photo ID bill, shows that the costs associated with implementing this bill were grossly inflated. The cost estimate of $3.2 Million noted in the Legislative Fiscal Note for this bill used dubious criteria to determine how many id cards would likely have to be issued and double counted the the costs associated with the issuance of the cards. The report was issued on March 22, 2011 and signed by the head of the Fiscal Research Division, Marilyn Chism. On March 30th, Ms. Chism, a Democrat, was forced to resign her position. No reason was given for her forced resignation.
Following are my observations and comments on this LFN. For reference, download the 11 page LFN here.
This report estimates that 14.5% of North Carolina voters, or 885,000 of them, might need to be issued a free voter photo id card. Now if you’re thinking that 14.5% seems like a high percentage, you’d be right. The report was clearly designed to be misleading. The real figure is closer to1% or 61,000 voters. Where does the 1% come from? Why, from the report itself, buried in the footnote on page 5: