Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down NC Voting Restrictions
Federal appellate judges on Friday struck down North Carolina’s restrictive omnibus voting law in a sweeping victory for voting rights, holding that it was “passed with racially discriminatory intent.”declaring in an unsparing opinion that the restrictions “target African Americans with almost surgical precision.”
The ruling focused on the five parts of the Monster Law challenged by numerous organizations, individual voters and the US Justice Department. Specifically, the ruling:
- blocks the requirement for voters to present an ID to vote (except for voters who use same-day registration or whose registration could not be verified; these are situations from earlier state law that permit a wider range of ID documents);
- returns the Early Voting period to 17 days instead of just 10 days;
- restores same-day registration during Early Voting;
- restores out-of-precinct voting on Election Day (voter is in right county but wrong precinct); and
- restores pre-registration for 16 and 17 year olds.