Voting should be as hard as making meth, says North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory

Governor Pat McCrory said that voting in North Carolina should be as difficult as it is to buy Sudafed in his meth-producing state. McCrory took time out from his gymnastics defending North Carolina’s bathroom bill in order to issue an official statement with some verbal jujitsu. The governor lauded the fact that North Carolina’s “common sense” approach to keeping a lot of folks from voting had been affirmed by a judge's ruling, which struck down a challenge to the law.

The New York Times summarized the restrictive voting rights bill and the ruling that upheld it:

“The opinion, by Judge Thomas D. Schroeder of Federal District Court in Winston-Salem, upheld the repeal of a provision that allowed people to register and vote on the same day. It also upheld a seven-day reduction in the early-voting period; the end of preregistration, which allowed some people to sign up before their 18th birthdays; and the repeal of a provision that allowed for the counting of ballots cast outside voters’ home precinct.

It also left intact North Carolina’s voter identification requirement, which legislators softened last year to permit residents to cast ballots, even if they lack the required documentation, if they submit affidavits.”

The governor's two-sentence statement likened the constitutionally-guaranteed right of citizens to vote as the same as buying Sudafed or boarding a jet.

"This ruling further affirms that requiring a photo ID in order to vote is not only common-sense, it's constitutional," said Governor McCrory. "Common practices like boarding an airplane and purchasing Sudafed require photo ID and thankfully a federal court has ensured our citizens will have the same protection for their basic right to vote."

In hopes of reducing the manufacture of methamphetamine, many states require a customer to present a photo ID when purchasing Sudafed and other decongestants that contain pseudoephedrine, a precursor drug to the illegal drug. In 2013, North Carolina busted up 513 meth labs.

By likening voting rights to buying Sudafed, the governor appears to be arguing that preventing some people from voting is an act of public health, like keeping dangerous drugs out of the hands of the wrong people.

A quick glance at the Constitution does not reveal any provision in its amendments for flying or treating a cold, but seems pretty clear on who has the right to vote.