Court blocks N.C. voter-ID law

Rules target blacks, don’t fix problems, U.S. panel says

North Carolina NAACP president the Rev. William Barber (center) gestures June 21 during a news conference in Richmond, Va.
North Carolina NAACP president the Rev. William Barber (center) gestures June 21 during a news conference in Richmond, Va.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A federal appeals court on Friday blocked a North Carolina law that required voters to produce photo identification and follow other rules disproportionately affecting minority groups, finding that the law was intended to make it harder for blacks to vote in the presidential battleground state.

The Richmond, Va.-based 4th Circuit Court of Appeals declared that the measures violated the Constitution and the federal Voting Rights Act by targeting black voters "with almost surgical precision." It marks the third ruling in less than two weeks against voter-ID laws, after court decisions regarding Texas and Wisconsin.

Friday's opinion from a three-judge panel states that "the legislature enacted one of the largest restrictions of the franchise in modern North Carolina history" when it rewrote voting laws in 2013.

The appeals court also dismissed arguments by Republican lawmakers that the law was aimed at preventing voter fraud.

"Although the new provisions target African Americans with almost surgical precision, they constitute inapt remedies for the problems assertedly justifying them and, in fact, impose cures for problems that did not exist," the opinion states.

Opponents of the law said the ruling should increase participation by black and Hispanic voters on Election Day in the state that also has closely contested races for U.S. Senate and governor. The U.S. Justice Department, state NAACP and League of Women Voters were among those who sued over the restrictions.

"This is a strong rebuke to what the North Carolina General Assembly did in 2013. It's a powerful precedent that ... federal courts will protect voting rights of voters of color," said Allison Riggs, who served as the League of Women Voters' lead lawyer.

North Carolina Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore, both Republicans, issued a statement that they would appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"We can only wonder if the intent is to reopen the door for voter fraud, potentially allowing fellow Democrat politicians ... to steal the election," they said.

All three panel members were appointed by Democratic presidents.

North Carolina's voter-ID mandate, which took effect in March, required people casting ballots in person to show one of six qualifying IDs, although voters facing "reasonable impediments" could fill out a form and cast a provisional ballot.

North Carolina legislators imposed the photo-ID requirement, curtailed early voting and eliminated same-day registration and voters' ability to cast out-of-precinct provisional ballots in their home counties.

The appeals court cited data that these methods were used disproportionately by black voters, who also were more likely to lack a qualifying ID, and it blocked the contested provisions of the law.

The judges wrote that in the years before the North Carolina law took effect, registration and participation by black voters had been dramatically increasing.

"We recognize that elections have consequences, but winning an election does not empower anyone in any party to engage in purposeful racial discrimination," the panel said.

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court ruled that Texas' strict voter-ID law is discriminatory and must be weakened by November. That followed a ruling by a federal judge in Wisconsin that residents without a photo ID will still be allowed to vote in November's election.

A federal judge threw out multiple aspects of Wisconsin's voter-ID law on Friday, leaving the law itself intact but ruling unconstitutional many restrictions on voting passed by the GOP-controlled Legislature and Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

U.S. District Judge James Peterson agreed with arguments that the laws requiring voters to show photo identification were enacted to benefit Republicans and make it harder for Democratic supporters to vote, and ordered a range of changes.

He ordered the state to quickly issue credentials valid for voting to anyone trying to obtain a free photo ID for voting. He struck down a restriction limiting municipalities to one location for in-person absentee voting, time limits on in-person absentee voting, an increase in residency requirements from 10 to 28 days, and a prohibition on using expired but otherwise qualifying student IDs to vote.

And in Kansas, a state judged ruled on Friday that the state must count potentially thousands of votes in state and lower-tier races from people who registered without providing citizenship documents.

The order from Shawnee County District Judge Larry Hendricks came only four days before Tuesday's primary election. Hendricks blocked an administrative rule from Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

The rule applies to people who register to vote at state motor vehicle offices without providing proof of their U.S. citizenship as required by a 2013 state law.

The affected voters were to receive provisional ballots to be reviewed later, and county election officials were directed to count only their votes for federal offices, not state and area ones. Ahead of the primary, about 17,600 people registered at motor vehicle offices without providing citizenship proof.

Information for this article was contributed by Jeffrey Collins, Martha Waggoner, Mark Sherman, Todd Richmond and John Hanna of The Associated Press.

A Section on 07/30/2016

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