ColorLines

North Carolina's Republican-dominated legislature passed the Voter Information Verification Act through its House chamber Wednesday. If the bill passes the Senate, it would only need the governor's signature to make it mandatory for voters to show photo identification in order to cast a ballot. The governor, Pat McCroy (R), has indicated he intends to sign it into law.

To protest the voter ID bill and other proposed legislation that would make voting more difficult, students from universities across the state sat in the House chamber on Wednesday wearing duct tape over their mouths with messages such as, "Do not silence my vote," and "Say no to voter suppression." The action was coordinated by students in the North Carolina NAACP Youth and College Division.

Other legislation on the table in North Carolina are bills that would levy a tax penalty on parents whose children register to vote where they attend college, cut early voting -- which 70 percent of black voters in the state use -- and one that would create the harshest felony disenfranchisement law in the nation.