North Carolina officials, scrambling to comply with a court ruling that blocked parts of a restrictive voter law just weeks before the November election, were in federal court on Tuesday to detail a proposed overhaul of their election plans. North Carolina was ordered to restore provisional ballots and same-day voter registrations last week when a U.S. appeals court found some provisions of a wide-ranging voter law, with restrictions considered among the nation’s most stringent, could disproportionately harm black voters. State attorneys said they did not anticipate problems bringing back provisional ballots, typically cast by voters who went to the wrong precinct. But they told the court it could be difficult to electronically process voter registrations occurring during early voting.
After the voter law changed, the state’s election software was updated and the same-day feature was not installed, said Alexander Peters, a state attorney. Instead, the plan is now to handle the registration intake manually.
“The feeling is it’s just too late at this stage to risk a problem,” Peters said.
The state has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the ruling. More than 4 million voter-instruction guides have been mailed explaining the voter law changes.
Full Article: North Carolina scrambles after new voter law blocked by court | Reuters.