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A majority on the nation’s highest court agreed Oct. 8 to halt the ruling of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that set aside parts of the 2013 election law approved by state lawmakers. Two justices dissented.
The decision means the full law will remain enforced while the state and civil rights groups that challenged the law prepare for trial next summer.
So there will be no same-day registration during early voting when it begins Oct. 23, and Election Day ballots cast in the wrong precinct won’t be counted. The full law was enforced during the May primary as well.
To vote in the November election, voters had to be registered by Oct. 10.
The North Carolina NAACP and Advancement Project released the following statement: “We are disappointed with the Supreme Court’s ruling today,” said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, president of the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP. “Tens of thousands of North Carolina voters, especially African-American voters, have relied on same-day registration, as well as the counting of ballots that were cast out of precinct, for years. As the appeals court correctly concluded, eliminating these measures will cause irreparable harm of denying citizens their right to vote in the November election—a right that, once lost, can never be recovered. The Forward Together Moral Movement will continue our fight for voting rights, making sure that, county by county, as many votes as possible are counted despite the barriers posed by the Supreme Court’s ruling. We will also charge onward in court, in the full trial next summer, to ensure that this restrictive and discriminatory law is permanently overturned.”
“North Carolina lost vital tools for expanding the franchise today,” said Advancement Project Co-Director Penda D. Hair. “Abridging the voting rights of African Americans by eliminating same-day registration and out-of-precinct voting is a far greater burden than any administrative changes that the State would have had to make by simply preserving those measures—which tens of thousands of North Carolina voters have already been using for the past three general elections. Same-day registration had provided a safety net for voters who go to the polls during early voting but find there is a problem with their registration. Out-of-precinct voting provided the same assurance for voters who did everything necessary to participate, but mistakenly voted at the wrong location within their county. With the Supreme Court’s decision blocking the injunction ordered by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, voters of color, who used these measures at significantly higher rates than White voters, will face higher barriers to the ballot box this November. And as Justice Ginsburg wrote in her dissent, North Carolina’s H.B. 589 would have never passed under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. We will continue working to restore the rights of North Carolina voters and ensure that elections are free, fair and accessible for all.”
Governor McCrory released the following statement: “I am pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court has ensured this popular and common sense bill will apply to the upcoming election. We respect the legal process and thank the Supreme Court justices for protecting the integrity of our elections.” (AP)