North Carolina appeals court blocks voter ID law News
© WikiMedia (Tom Arthur)
North Carolina appeals court blocks voter ID law

The North Carolina Court of Appeals granted an injunction Tuesday preventing the implementation of a voter ID law.

North Carolina voters approved a constitutional amendment to require photo ID in November 2018.

Plaintiffs challenged the requirement as racially discriminatory. They argued that the history of racially discriminatory voter ID laws in North Carolina, which are similar to this one, makes it likely that this law is also discriminatory. They also argued that a higher burden would be placed on black voters who are disproportionately less likely to have valid ID.

The appeals court granted the injunction finding that the harm that the plaintiffs would suffer by potentially not being allowed to vote was irreparable.

The case was remanded back to the trial court to determine the validity of the law, which will now not be in effect for the November 2020 election.