Here are some reactions to the Supreme Court declining to hear the North Carolina voting case. The announcement was made on Monday.
Gov. Cooper Comment on SCOTUS Voter Access Decision
Governor Cooper responded to the Supreme Court’s decision not to reinstate the voting restrictions law overturned in federal court last year:
“Today’s announcement is good news for North Carolina voters. We need to be making it easier to vote, not harder – and the Court found this law sought to discriminate against African-American voters with “surgical precision.” I will continue to work to protect the right of every legal, registered North Carolinian to participate in our democratic process. “
In February, Governor Cooper and Attorney General Stein moved to end the case by withdrawing the state’s petition for appeal to the Supreme Court.
Legislative Leaders (GOP) Respond to Voter ID Decision
N.C. Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) responded Monday to news that the U.S. Supreme Court will not review the state’s voter ID law at this time and set a national standard on the issue, even though more than 30 other states have voter ID laws in place.
The decision comes after Gov. Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein actively worked to derail the law, including a February 2017 attempt to dismiss the state’s case that was in violation of state law. Stein had previously testified on behalf of left-wing interest groups that opposed the voter ID law while he was contemplating a run for attorney general, and Stein’s father represented the plaintiffs in the voter ID case for years – conflicts of interest that should have prevented the attorney general from representing the state.
Chief Justice Roberts noted:
…it is important to recall our frequent admonition that “[t]he denial of a writ of certiorari imports no expression of opinion upon the merits of the case.”
“It is unconscionable that Roy Cooper and Josh Stein – who ignored state law and flouted their conflicts of interest to kill voter ID in North Carolina – have now caused the vast majority of voters who support voter ID to be denied their day in court,” said Berger and Moore. “In light of Chief Justice Roberts’ statement that the ruling was not based on the merits of voter ID, all North Carolinians can rest assured that Republican legislators will continue fighting to protect the integrity of our elections by implementing the commonsense requirement to show a photo ID when we vote.”
ACLU: Supreme Court Declines to Hear North Carolina Voting Case
ACLU and SCSJ Challenged Discriminatory Voting Law, SCOTUS Order is Victory for Voting Rights
The Supreme Court has declined to review a federal appeals court decision holding that North Carolina’s 2013 election law — which imposed a voter ID requirement, cut a week of early voting, and eliminated same-day registration — intentionally discriminates against African-Americans. North Carolina has now exhausted all avenues of appeal.
The American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Coalition for Social Justice challenged the law, which was struck down by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2016. In early January, the state sought Supreme Court review, but the newly elected governor moved to drop the petition, prompting the legislators who passed the measure to try and intervene.
“This law, enacted with what the appeals court called discriminatory intent and ‘almost surgical precision’ targeting African-American voters, is meeting its much-deserved demise,” said Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “An ugly chapter in voter suppression is finally closing.”
The ACLU, ACLU of North Carolina, and Southern Coalition for Social Justice represented the League of Women Voters of North Carolina, the North Carolina A. Philip Randolph Institute, North Carolina Common Cause, Unifour Onestop Collaborative, and several individuals.
“We are grateful that the Supreme Court has decided to allow the Fourth Circuit’s ruling to stand, confirming that discrimination has no place in our democracy nor our elections,” said Allison Riggs, senior staff attorney with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. “This ruling sends a strong message that lawmakers in North Carolina should stop enacting laws that discriminate based on race.”
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