Appeals court sets quick date on North Carolina voting law
RALEIGH -- A federal appeals court decided Tuesday to hasten arguments in a case challenging a tough, new North Carolina voting law that critics say will suppress minority voter turnout in November.
The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals set Sept. 27 for an expedited hearing in Charlotte. They'll consider whether the November elections can be held under the voting law approved by Republican lawmakers and considered one of the toughest in the country.
It has been just one month since a federal judge ruled that groups challenging the law failed to show they would suffer "irreparable harm" if November's elections were held under the new rules. The changes this year eliminated same-day registration during early voting, reduced the early-voting period by a week and voided ballots cast on Election Day outside of a person's home precinct. Political parties also can send in more observers to monitor voting.
Voters also were to be told at the polls to prepare for a photo identification requirement in 2016.
The GOP-controlled state legislature, Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and other supporters said the law passed last year was needed to combat in-person voter fraud, which they said is rampant in the state despite only a handful of confirmed cases in recent years.
A coalition of groups, including the League of Women Voters and the state NAACP, filed three lawsuits challenging the changes. The lawsuits have since been combined into a single case.
Lawyers for the groups argued the changes are designed to suppress turnout at the polls among minorities, the elderly and college students - blocs considered more likely to vote for Democrats.
In a week-long hearing in July, they asked U.S. District Court Judge Thomas D. Schroeder to stop implementation of the new law until a trial to determine whether the changes violate the U.S. Constitution or the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Schroeder, who was appointed to the federal bench by Republican President George W. Bush, refused but also denied an effort seeking to have the case dismissed. That set the stage for a trial next year.
