On Friday, a North Carolina court ruled that the state’s voter identification law passed in 2018 is unconstitutional, because the law targeted voters “based on race.”
The story: A North Carolina court struck down a voter ID law on Friday, citing evidence that the regulation discriminates against Black voters.
In the majority opinion, the two judges who wrote in favor of the ruling clarified that the Republican lawmakers who passed the law in 2018 were not motivated by racial animus, but instead by their knowledge that Black voters commonly vote for Democrats.
“In reaching this conclusion, we do not find that any member of the General Assembly who voted in favor of [voter ID] harbors any racial animus or hatred towards African American voters, but rather … that the Republican majority ‘target[ed] voters who, based on race, were unlikely to vote for the majority party,'” the judges wrote. “Even if done for partisan ends, that constitute[s] racial discrimination.'”
How we got here: The ruling was
issued by a panel of three judges, rather than just one judge, as this is how North Carolina courts address questions of constitutional law.
The voter ID law passed back in 2018, after voters indicated their approval on a ballot referendum, garnering 55% of votes.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (D) vetoed the bill after it was passed, but because Republicans still carried the majority in Congress, they were able to override the veto.
Opponents to the law sued right away, and courts on both the state and federal level agreed to hear challenging to the law soon after.
A federal case on the same subject is still pending.
Reactions to the ruling: In a press release issued on Friday, Southern Coalition for Social Justice co-executive director Allison Riggs
stated that the court ruling and the witness testimony at trial “highlighted how the state’s Republican-controlled legislature undeniably implemented this legislation to maintain its power by targeting voters of color.”
Lawyers who argued in favor of the law do not agree with Riggs’ assessment.
“Once again, liberal judges have defied the will of North Carolinians on election integrity,” said Sam Hayes, the attorney for N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore, in a press release. “Voters of this state have repeatedly supported a voter ID requirement – going so far as to enshrine it in our state constitution.”