Justice

Federal Court Finds Intentional Discrimination in North Carolina's Voter ID Law

This third ruling against photo voter ID mandates could signal the end of the battle.
REUTERS/Chris Keane

A three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled Friday to block North Carolina’s voter ID law on the basis that it was passed with the intention to discriminate against people of color. In addition to the photo-ID mandate, the law, passed in 2013, cut the early-voting period and stripped away people’s ability to register to vote on the same day as they cast their ballot. The law was passed despite the fact that African Americans relied on these provisions in past elections more than white voters did, and despite being far less like likely to have a photo-ID drivers license than white voters.

Civil rights advocates sued the state over the voter ID law for these reasons, but a lower court rejected that challenge back in April. Friday’s ruling from the Fourth Circuit Appeals court reverses that decision.