The latest step in the controversial decision that will require North Carolina voters to show ID when they visit the polls this year took a major turn last week.
U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Biggs announced on Dec. 26 that she will issue a temporary block on the requirement, in response to an ongoing lawsuit – NAACP et al vs. Cooper – with the hearings being held in Winston-Salem. NAACP President Anthony Spearman was “ecstatic” about the block.
A full explanation of Biggs’ decision is expected to be released this week, but the announcement was planned to delay a statewide mailing initiative by the N.C. Board of Elections, which explains the new requirements to voters. The public was notified of the decision via a short note added to the online case file. The elections board can appeal the decision and stated its opposition to the injunction when it was originally requested in September. Board spokesman Patrick Gannon said Friday it is up to Attorney General Josh Stein on how to proceed, unless the board first votes to take a position on the situation. Stein spokeswoman Laura Brewer said the Attorney General’s Office will wait until the full order is released and reviewed this week before determining what to do.
“This last-minute attempt by an activist federal judge to overturn the will of North Carolina voters must be immediately appealed by the governor’s Board of Elections,” North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore said in a statement emailed to media outlets Friday. “To issue an injunction against one of the nation’s most lenient voter ID laws – which 34 states already have – without providing an opinion is an outrageous affront to due process, the rights of North Carolina voters and the rule of law.”
Passed by the General Assembly in 2018, the voter ID law has been argued by the NAACP as “discriminatory."
The NAACP believes the law violates both the 14th and 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as well as Section 2 of the U.S. Voting Rights Act.
However, the 2018 law was approved by voters as a constitutional amendment, which would allow voters to use any of the following forms of ID:
* North Carolina driver’s license
* Identification cards for non-drivers issued by the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles
* Valid U.S. passport
* Locally issued voter ID card
* Federal or state-issued tribal enrollment card
* Student ID, issued by any member of the University of North Carolina system, as well as a community college or private university ID
* Employee ID card issued by the state or local government
* Driver’s license or ID card issued by another state, provided the voter’s registration came within 90 days of the election.
* Attorneys for the NAACP have said in their filings that the requirements would affect black and Latino voters, who are less likely to have a photo ID.
But under the new law, voters can also request a free ID to cast their ballot and alternatively, can sign an affidavit that affirms their identity if they have a “reasonable impediment” to producing a photo ID.
Those that sign the affidavit would then cast a provisional ballot.