Opponents unhappy with court ruling on NC voter ID law
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- The fallout continues after a US Supreme Court decision on key parts of North Carolina's new voting law.
The high court decided Wednesday to block a federal appeals court ruling from taking effect. It means that same-day voter registration won't be allowed during early voting, as well as out-of-precinct voting in next month's election.
The NAACP has been at the forefront in the fight against the controversial law. President William Barber held a press conference Thursday at the First Baptist Church in Fayetteville to address the ruling. Barber said he was outraged and that the court's decision will suppress the minority vote.
"All justice-minded North Carolinians, not just African-Americans, but all justice minded North Carolinians should be outraged by this effort," said Barber.
Republicans have been pushing for the changes, saying it would reduce on voter ID fraud.
Governor Pat McCrory also spoke out on the ruling and said he's pleased.
"I was disappointed in the initial ruling, but it's my job to follow the law and respect the process, and that's exactly what I'm going to do," said McCrory.
The court ruling means if you plan to vote in the upcoming election, you must register by Friday. There are a few things to meet that cut-off date. You can hand deliver your registration or mail it in to the Board of Elections. The last option is to fax or email the document over. The agency says they usually don't advertise that as an option, but they're doing it now considering the time crunch. If you plan to submit scanned documentation, the Board of Elections say you then must call them and confirm the registration was received. The deadline to get your form in is 5 p.m.
"[Otherwise] you will not be qualified to vote in the November 4th general elections," said NC Board of Elections Deputy Director Veronica Degraffenreid. "Absolutely, we encourage anyone who's not register to please register today or by tomorrow and submit your form."
The voting changes will be enforced until the legal battle over the Voter ID law goes to trial. That's scheduled for next summer.
