Lawyers representing the state of North Carolina, Governor Pat McCrory and other defendants were accused of holding back crucial electronic documents in a hearing last Friday as lawsuits seeking to overturn North Carolina’s new voting law move forward.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Bridget O’Connor demanded “real deadlines and consequences for not meeting them,” in a hearing before Magistrate Judge Joi Elizabeth Peake on Friday, February 21. The plaintiffs in three lawsuits are seeking emails and other electronic documents produced by state employees documenting the creation and implementation of the North Carolina’s controversial Voter Identification Verification Law (VIVA). Several parts of the new law, such as a reduction in the number of early voting days and the end of same-day voter registration, are set to go into effect before the November 2014 election.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys say they need the documents in order to file a temporary injunction to stop VIVA from going into effect. Defense lawyers say the plaintiffs are requesting an unreasonable number of documents and state workers can’t keep up with their demands.
Defense attorney Phillip J. Strach said the plaintiffs were requesting documents from four government agencies: Governor McCrory’s office, the Department of Transportation, the State Board of Elections and the General Assembly.
Full Article: Lawyers clash over electronic documents in NC voter ID lawsuit (Includes first-hand account).