By Jesse Wood
On Monday, a federal judge upheld North Carolina’s voter ID law that went into effect this past primary election cycle. The law requires voters to show an acceptable form of ID. It also eliminated a week of early voting, ended same-day registration and prohibited the counting of out-of-precinct ballots.
Here’s what folks are saying about the ruling:
Gov. McCrory: Federal Court Upholds Common-Sense Voter ID Requirement
Governor Pat McCrory issued a statement following the ruling by U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder upholding all parts of the state’s voter ID law:
“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.”
ACLU: Federal Court Upholds Provisions of Restrictive Voting Law
The American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Coalition for Social Justice condemned today’s federal court ruling upholding provisions of North Carolina’s restrictive voting law. The groups are analyzing the court’s decision and considering next steps.
The groups are challenging provisions that eliminate a week of early voting, end same-day registration, and prohibit the counting of out-of-precinct ballots. Thousands of North Carolinians, disproportionately African-Americans, have relied on those provisions to cast their votes in past elections.
“The sweeping barriers imposed by this law undermine voter participation and have an overwhelmingly discriminatory impact on African-Americans. This ruling does not change that reality. We are already examining an appeal,” said Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project.
The ACLU, ACLU of North Carolina, and Southern Coalition for Social Justice filed the lawsuit in 2013 on behalf of several plaintiffs, including the League of Women Voters of North Carolina, the North Carolina A. Philip Randolph Institute, North Carolina Common Cause, and Unifour Onestop Collaborative, and several individuals.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals previously ordered North Carolina to restore same-day registration and out-of-precinct voting for the 2014 elections as the case made its way through the courts; that ruling was ultimately reversed, however, and the provisions remained in effect.
“Today’s ruling is inconsistent with the Fourth Circuit’s decision in 2014, and we’re confident that the voters in this state will eventually be vindicated,” said Southern Coalition for Social Justice senior staff attorney Allison Riggs
At federal trial in July 2015, dozens of witnesses spoke of how the law has severely restricted ballot access for the state’s most vulnerable citizens, including low-income voters, those with transportation challenges, and particularly African-American voters. In the 2012 election, 900,000 North Carolinians cast their ballots during the seven days of early voting eliminated by the North Carolina General Assembly – 70 percent of those who voted early were African-American.
The ACLU and Southern Coalition for Social Justice charge the law violates the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause and the Voting Rights Act.
The ruling is available at acluofnc.org.
More information about this case, League of Women Voters of North Carolina et al. v. North Carolina, is at: https://www.aclu.org/cases/league-women-voters-north-carolina-et-al-v-north-carolina
NCGOP: Voter ID Ruling A Decisive Victory Over Hillary Clinton, George Soros And Cooper-Backed Special Interests
After a federal court upheld North Carolina’s common sense voter ID law and threw out the radical left’s legal challenge, the North Carolina Republican Party (NCGOP) released the following statement:
“This ruling is a decisive victory for North Carolina over George Soros, Hillary Clinton and the Roy Cooper-backed out-of-state special interests who tried to overturn the state’s common sense voter ID law, in order to make it easier to cheat in our elections,” said NCGOP executive director Dallas Woodhouse. “Despite the scare tactics, misinformation and constant attacks from the radical left, the court threw out their false arguments and ruled that this common sense law is constitutional.”
In his ruling, District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder stated his decision was “based on actual historical facts, rather than speculation.” According to the ruling: “After twenty-five days of trial and reviewing over 20,000 pages of record and the testimony of over 20 expert and 100 fact witnesses, and after considerable reflection, the court is in a position to evaluate the effect of SL 2013-381 based on actual historical facts, rather than speculation.”
Last year, the North Carolina Republican Party uncovered millions of dollars from out-of-state and national labor unions being funneled to Moral Monday groups in North Carolina to protest the state’s voter ID law. Undercover NCGOP video revealed that out-of-state labor unions bused in members from around the country to protest North Carolina’s law.
The New York Times reported that efforts to repeal and challenge common sense voter ID laws in North Carolina was spearheaded by Hillary Clinton’s campaign lawyer, Marc Elias, and bankrolled by liberal billionaire activist George Soros. Additionally, Attorney General and Democrat nominee for governor, Roy Cooper, opposed the Voter ID law and has tried to block it from becoming law.
Recent campaign finance reports revealed a major conflict-of-interest for Attorney General Roy Cooper, who accepted the maximum campaign contribution from George Soros despite the fact that Cooper’s office was charged with defending the state against his lawsuit.
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