The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People asked a federal judge on Tuesday to halt the implementation of a photo identification requirement for North Carolina voters, saying the measure discriminates against black and Latino residents. The North Carolina chapter of the NAACP and other plaintiffs filed a motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to stop the requirement, which will take effect next year, ahead of primary elections in March. “North Carolina’s voter ID requirement remains an undue and unlawful burden on voters of color,” Reverend William J. Barber II, president of the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, said in a statement. “A preliminary injunction would ensure democracy is not disrupted for eligible voters of color,” he said.
North Carolina’s Republican-led legislature in 2013 passed a series of voting restrictions that shortened the state’s early voting period by seven days, ended same-day registration, banned provisional ballots cast outside the correct precinct from being counted and ended a program allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote.
The law also requires voters to show certain forms of photo identification to cast a ballot.
Full Article: NAACP seeks to halt implementation of North Carolina voter ID law | Reuters.