A federal trial in Winston-Salem next month on several provisions of North Carolina’s 2013 elections law won’t consider challenges to the state’s upcoming voter identification requirement in light of recent changes to the mandate, a judge has ruled. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder decided that claims against the photo ID provision set to begin in 2016 will be kept out of the July 13 trial and considered later. Schroeder’s order came barely a week after the legislature finalized a bill creating a method by which people who can’t obtain a photo ID before next year can cast a lawful ballot. Other claims that still will be tried on time include accusations that minority citizens will be disproportionately harmed by such changes as reducing early voting days by one week, ending same-day registration during early voting and rejecting Election Day ballots cast in a voter’s incorrect precinct. Republicans in charge of the legislature, who championed the law, reject those claims.
The plaintiffs — including the state NAACP, League of Women Voters and the U.S. Justice Department — had requested more time to assess the new voter ID law but rejected Schroeder’s proposal to move the entire trial to September, according to his order.
“While we believe that any photo ID requirement is unconstitutional and disproportionately burdensome for voters of color, it will take time to comprehensively review North Carolina’s last-minute changes,” said Donita Judge, an attorney for the Advancement Project.
The group’s lawyers are representing NAACP and some voters. “We will continue our legal fight until all of these provisions, including the voter ID requirement, are eliminated,” Judge added.
Full Article: Federal trial next month won’t address voter ID mandate – Winston-Salem Journal: Local News.