In 2013, the North Carolina General Assembly voted to enact a Voter ID law, making some pretty big changes for many North Carolina voters. The biggest change was the requirement that each voter present a government-issued form of photo ID on Election Day 2016. Staff was hired at the state level to oversee the transition, elections forms were changed, advertising campaigns waged, Boards of Elections’ software updated to reflect the new requirement, DMVs across the state enlisted to provide free IDs to anyone who could provide proof that they are who they say they are.

During the last two elections, poll workers and Boards of Elections’ staff members asked every voter for a valid photo ID in preparation for what would be a requirement at the polls in 2016. North Carolina lawmakers spent plenty of time and money, getting people used to the idea and giving them plenty of warning to get a state-issued ID before the big day came.

But it turns out those same legislators who put forth the law also took the government-issued photo ID part back, rather suddenly and quietly. Even legislators were given no notice of the provision added to House Bill 836 by the conference committee before the day of the vote.

This was in mid-June, when the measured was passed — 44-2 in the Senate; 104-4 in the House — stating that a government-issued ID is no longer necessary at the polls as long as a voter signs an affidavit attesting to the fact that he or she was unable to obtain a photo ID because of extenuating circumstances and present another form of ID, like the last four digits of his or her Social Security number or a utility bill.

Some legislators claimed it was public input over the past two years that swung their pendulum away from photo ID. But the specter of two lawsuits (one state, one federal) on the horizon no doubt led to the quick conversion. If the law was struck down by the courts, then the other provisions included in the law — no pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds, no same-day registration, no voting by provisional ballots if a voter shows up to the wrong precinct, a reduction in early voting days — could be as well.

Legislators could have simply done this from the first. They could have paid attention to public input before they made the law. They could have saved North Carolina taxpayers the expense if they’d done their research first.

Wonder if they’ll spend just as much money educating the public about how they don’t need a government-issued ID on Election Day 2016.