Over protests that they would effectively disenfranchise thousands of voters, the state Senate Wednesday night passed a bill that would require voters to show a photo ID.
The bill passed along party lines 31-19. It now goes back to the House for agreement on minor changes.
Meanwhile a House committee passed a bill that includes sweeping changes in election law, including eliminating Sunday early voting and same-day registration.
Both bills are expected to get final approval this week and go on to Gov. Bev Perdue, a Democrat.
Supporters hailed the voter ID bill.
"Requiring voters to show a photo ID will boost their confidence and increase participation at the polls - two things the governor should join most North Carolinians in supporting," Senate GOP Leader Phil Berger of Rockingham said in a statement. "If she is serious about protecting the integrity of elections instead of scoring political points with her liberal base, she will sign this bill."
Senate Democrats invoked the old Jim Crow laws in criticizing the bill.
Democratic Sen. Dan Blue of Wake County passed out copies of an old poll tax. He called it "a throwback to what happened in this state between 1900 and 1965."
Sen. Floyd McKissick Jr., a Durham Democrat, said it would lead to "voter suppression." And Sen. Malcolm Graham, a Democrat from Charlotte, said photo IDs and other GOP-supported voting changes "only leads to one conclusion: that we are erecting barriers to keep people from voting."
Republican Sen. Buck Newton of Wilson countered by saying the bill "is not about poll taxes, it's not about suppressing the vote.
"It's about making sure our elections are legal and valid."
Earlier Wednesday, a House panel voted down party lines to clear a Republican-backed bill that makes significant changes to state election laws that Democrats contend are designed to suppress voter turnout.
Senate Bill 47 was voted down by the same committee on Tuesday, when the Republican chairman mistakenly called for a vote when some of his members were out of the room, giving Democrats the majority.
But the chairman, Rep. David Lewis of Dunn, voted with the Democrats so he could call for another vote Wednesday. Under House rules, a member who votes for the winning side can ask that a measure be reconsidered.
The version of the bill approved Wednesday included some tweaks, removing four provisions that critics found objectionable. But it still includes measures that chafe Democrats, including reducing the period for early voting by one week and barring voting on Sunday. The bill also eliminates a state law that allows voters to register at the polls.
During the 2008 presidential election, early voters helped propel both President Barack Obama and Gov. Bev Perdue to narrow victories. Many of those were minority voters, who voted on Sunday after leaving church.
Republicans are expected to bring the bill to the House floor for a vote today. If approved, it will return to the Republican-controlled Senate before heading to the desk of Perdue for a possible veto.
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