A recent U.S. Court Of Appeals ruling that shut down several blatantly discriminatory voting policies in North Carolina is receiving some pushback from the state’s Republican leadership.
Earlier this month, the courts moved to put a stop to several practices attached to North Carolina voting policies after they were found to disproportionately and intentionally target African-American voters in an effort to keep them away from the polls this November as the GOP struggles to build additional support for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump within its own party.
North Carolina Throws Out Voter ID Law Targeting African-Americans
Among the policies in question was a provision that no longer allows teens to pre-register so that they are automatically able to vote upon turning 18, along with the state questionable voter ID law that prohibits things like same-day voter registration and requires all voters to provide a government-issued photo ID to be able to vote.
Despite the court’s findings that the new provisions target African-Americans with “almost surgical precision,” Republican lawmakers argue that the policies would not have any significantly negative impact on any group of voters. Former Bush administration solicitor Paul D. Clement also expressed concern with requiring North Carolina to revise the policy so soon before a presidential election, according to a report from The Washington Post.
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Given that the state’s previous 3-judge panel unanimously found the voting laws in question unconstitutional, the GOP-led resistance will likely have a hard time overturning the lower court’s ruling. Nevertheless, if you’re African-American and voting in North Carolina, this is certainly something you’ll need to keep on your radar.