FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 2014
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals today reversed a lower court ruling that had allowed provisions of North Carolina's restrictive voting law to go into effect before the midterm election. Today's order restores same-day registration and reinstates out-of-precinct provisional voting on Voting Rights Act grounds. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice are challenging those provisions, as well as the elimination of a week of early voting.
"The court's order safeguards the vote for tens of thousands of North Carolinians. It means they will continue to be able to use same-day registration, just as they have during the last three federal elections," said Dale Ho, director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project.
"This is a victory for voters in the state of North Carolina,” said Southern Coalition for Social Justice staff attorney Allison Riggs. "The court has rebuked attempts to undermine voter participation."
Background: North Carolina passed a restrictive voting law in August 2013. The ACLU and Southern Coalition for Social Justice challenged provisions of the law that eliminate a week of early voting, end same-day registration, and prohibit out-of-precinct voting. The groups charge that implementing these provisions would unduly burden the right to vote and discriminate against African-American voters, in violation of the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause and the Voting Rights Act.
In recent elections, North Carolinians could register, or update their registration information, and vote in one trip to an early voting site. In both 2008 and 2012, approximately 250,000 people did so. African Americans disproportionately relied on same-day registration in both elections. The new law eliminates this opportunity to register, effectively disenfranchising tens of thousands of voters.
The case, League of Women Voters of North Carolina v. North Carolina, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.
Today's order will be available at acluofnc.org.
More information is at: https://www.aclu.org/...
At this writing, I don't know if there will be an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts is assigned to the Fourth Circuit to hear expedited appeals.
In a 2-1 decision joined by U.S. Judge Henry Floyd, U.S. District Judge James A. Wynn, Jr. wrote:
Courts routinely deem restrictions on fundamental voting rights irreparable injury.And discriminatory voting procedures in particular are “the kind of serious violation of the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act for which courts have granted immediate relief.” This makes sense generally and here specifically because whether the number is thirty or thirty-thousand, surely some North Carolina minority voters will be disproportionately adversely affected in the upcoming election. And once the election occurs, there can be no do-over and no redress. The injury to these voters is real and completely irreparable if nothing is done to enjoin this law.
U.S. District Judge Diana Gribbon Motz issued a dissenting opinion.
http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/...
RALEIGH, N.C. — A federal appeals court panel is ordering parts of North Carolina's strict new voting law set aside for next month's elections because it is likely to disenfranchise black voters.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals split 2-1 on Wednesday. The court says same-day registration should be allowed and ballots cast outside a voter's assigned precinct should be considered. It says plaintiffs failed to show irreparable harm if the number of early voting days are reduced by a week.
The voter ID part of the law is not set to take effect until 2016.
The Republican-backed law was challenged by civil rights groups and the U.S. Justice Department. It is considered one of the toughest in the nation.
North Carolina has one of the most closely watched U.S. Senate races.http://www.nytimes.com/...
11:48 AM PT: The ruling will likely be appealed to the full 4th Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, voting-rights groups hailed the decision.
"The evidence clearly showed that, under North Carolina’s voter suppression law, African-Americans would have faced higher barriers to the ballot this November," Rev. William Barber, state president of the NAACP, said in a statement. "The court took an important step to ensure that this election will remain free, fair and accessible to all North Carolina voters."
http://www.wral.com/...