|
The trial is the
first of several voting rights battles that will play out across
the country ahead of the November presidential election.
The case tests a key piece of broad voting restrictions passed
after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that North Carolina
and other states with a history of discrimination no longer
needed federal approval for voting law changes affecting
minorities.
In another high-profile case, Texas is fighting to keep its
photo voter ID requirement on the books.
"These are kind of bellwether cases that people are watching,"
said Rick Hasen, a University of California, Irvine professor
who specializes in election law. "If Texas and North Carolina
are successful here, then I suspect other states will follow
suit."
Democrats argue voter ID laws passed by Republican-led state
legislatures are aimed at disenfranchising voters who typically
support the Democratic party. Proponents of the measures say
they are intended to prevent voter fraud and apply equally to
everyone.
The trial in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, will be the second
held over the legality of sweeping changes made to the state's
election law in 2013.
Last summer, U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder heard
arguments about the shortened early voting period, end of
same-day registration, elimination of pre-registration for 16
and 17 year olds and banning of provisional ballots cast outside
the correct precinct from being counted. He has not issued a
decision.
The voter ID requirement is getting a separate vetting after
lawmakers amended it in 2015 ahead of the initial trial.
Now, voters who cite a "reasonable impediment" to being able to
obtain acceptable identification will be allowed to cast a
provisional ballot.
Challengers maintain the law still discriminates against voters
of color, who disproportionately lack the necessary forms of
identification, and could give election workers too much
discretion.
It is unknown if Schroeder will rule before the state's
presidential primaries in March.
"We're not going to be satisfied until the ID requirement is
fully fixed, and voters are not intimidated from casting a
ballot," said the Reverend William Barber, president of North
Carolina's National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People.
(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Sandra Maler)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
|
