Legal dispute over N.C. voting laws continues in federal court on Sept. 25

On September 25, the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals will begin oral arguments in the North Carolina voting rights case* over the restrictions the Republican-controlled legislature passed in 2013. As The Raleigh News & Observer's Anne Blythe reports:

The challengers contend that the 2013 election law overhaul discriminates against African-Americans, Latinos and voters younger than 25. They have asked the court to block provisions that end same-day registration, curb the number of days on which people can vote early, prohibit people from casting ballots out of their assigned precincts and end a popular teen preregistration program.

 

Republican leaders who shepherded the changes through the General Assembly to the desk of Gov. Pat McCrory, who signed the 2013 bill into law, argue that they are trying to ward off the potential for voter fraud, though few cases have been brought forward.

Last month, a federal judge rejected the appellant's request for a preliminary injunction against these laws, which, if approved, would have left the old laws in place through the November 2014 midterm elections. This month, the Fourth Circuit again rejected that request (here) . But, it agreed to expite their appeal.

Also, in this recent report, Democracy North Carolina found in the last election that the new voting laws disenfranchised 454 North Carolinians whose votes would've counted before. The group writes:

 

Voters denied a chance to have their voices heard include a veteran returning from Afghanistan whose registration was incorrectly terminated while he was away; a first-time voter who registered at the DMV, but that registration didn’t reach the local board of elections; a precinct judge assigned to a precinct other than her own who couldn’t leave to vote in her home precinct; a disabled senior who was driven to a friend’s polling place on Election Day; a nurse who temporarily registered her car in a nearby county while working at its hospital for nine months; a college student who registered during a voter drive but her application was not recorded; and a new couple in town who mailed in their registration but it did not reach the county board of elections before the registration deadline.

* North Carolina v. McCrory