Foes Of Election Reform Ruling Vow To Push Forward

Supporters of North Carolina’s sweeping election law reforms are hailing a federal judge’s decision not to block the changes from taking effect before this year’s general election. Opponents who challenged the 2013 law say they’re disappointed and are considering an appeal of U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroder’s order denying the injunction. Opponents also say they’re moving ahead with plans to mobilize voters to turnout at the polls this fall.

In addition to denying injunctions preventing some of the provisions of the 2013 law –— such as reducing the early voting period from 17 days to 10 days, eliminating same-day registration during early voting, and ending pre-registration of 16- and 17-year-olds, Schroder also denied the state’s motion to dismiss the lawsuits outright.

Schroder said the plaintiffs did not demonstrate a likelihood of prevailing when the case goes to trial, which is scheduled for July 2015.

Meanwhile, most of the provisions of the new law will take effect this year. Voters, however, will not have to show an acceptable photo ID until the 2016 election cycle.

Republicans, who pushed the legislation through last year’s General Assembly, were happy with the ruling.

“We are pleased that the common sense election reforms passed by our General Assembly and signed by Gov. Pat McCrory have won a major battle,” said Todd Poole, executive director of the N.C. Republican Party. “This ruling is a victory for North Carolinians who want fair elections in which every citizen can fully and equally participate in an election system with improved integrity.”

Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, agreed. “I’m pleased that a federal judge ruled the common-sense election reforms passed by the General Assembly will remain in place for November’s election,” Berger said in a statement.

Plaintiffs in the case weren’t so happy. They included the North Carolina NAACP, the League of Women Voters, and the U.S. Department of Justice.

“We are disappointed with this opinion,” said Irving Joyner, an attorney for the NC NAACP. “But we are determined that it will not hinder our effort to continue to ensure full voting participation in the upcoming election by African Americans of this state. This opinion is not fatal to our efforts.”

Joyner said the decision will force African Americans in North Carolina to work harder because of the law and “bear a disproportionate burden of getting people out to the polls to vote.”

The American Civil Liberties Union in North Carolina also expressed disappointment in the ruling.

“If this law is found unconstitutional, North Carolinians whose voting rights were violated in the midterm election will have lost a critical opportunity to participate in our democratic process,” said Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “While we had hoped the court would recognize this irreparable harm, the ultimate goal is to see these discriminatory measures struck down. We look forward to making our case at full trial, which is something the state had sought to avoid.”

In his ruling, Schroder said the plaintiffs were relying on old data to support their case. “Plaintiffs’ historical evidence in these cases focuses largely on racial discrimination that occurred between a quarter of a century to over a century ago,” Schroder wrote. “However, as the Supreme Court recently stated, ‘history did not end in 1965.’”

Schroder also noted that voting-age blacks have a higher current registration rate than whites, and that the plaintiffs had not shown that under the new law African-American voters would lack an equal opportunity to register to vote easily.

Kim Westbrook Strach, executive director of the State Board of Elections, said her office would work hard to implement the new law.

“We are partnering with civic organizations across the political spectrum to implement new voting requirements in a way that serves all communities in our state,” Strach said. “Outreach staff at the state board will continue our efforts to ensure that every voter has the opportunity to participate this November.”

Barry Smith (@Barry_Smith) is an associate editor of Carolina Journal.