COURT STRIKES DOWN VOTER ID LAW IN NORTH CAROLINA

On June 29, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit struck down five key provisions of NC’s voter ID law passed by the Republican-led General Assembly in 2013. Judges ruled that the provisions were passed with intent to discriminate against African-American voters and violated the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act.

Governor McCrory appealed this decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.  (An emergency application was filed August 15, 2016).  

On Wednesday, August 31, 2016, the Supreme Court denied North Carolina’s appeal to enforce the voter id rules.  The Justices were deadlocked 4 to 4; thus leaving in place the rules that existed prior to 2013.

  Court Opinion on Voter ID Law

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WHAT DOES THE RULING OF THE US  COURT OF APPEALS MEAN?

NORTH CAROLINA VOTERS CAN:

• Vote without presenting photo identification.

• Enjoy an additional seven days of early voting.

• Register to vote at an early-voting site on the same day that they cast their ballots.

• Have their provisional votes counted if they appear at the wrong precinct within their county on Election Day, for every race for which they are eligible to vote.

• Pre-register to vote as sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds.

IMPORTANT DATES:

• Absentee Voting by mail will begin on  Friday, September 9, 2016. Every County Board of Elections will begin releasing ballots on this date.

• The Voter Registration Deadline for the General Election is  Friday, October 14, 2016 by  5:00pm. Of course, anyone who misses this deadline can still take advantage of same-day-registration during the One-Stop Early Voting period.

• The last day to submit a Request for an Absentee Ballot is  Tuesday, November 1, 2016 by  5:00pm.

• One-Stop Early Voting will run from Thursday,  October 20 – Saturday, November 5, 2016 at 1:00pm. Voters should call or visit the website of their local County Board of Elections to confirm the time that voting will be conducted and site locations. Please note that the “times” and “days” at the varying locations within each county may vary. That means that some sites may not be open every day during early voting, and the times may not be the same at each site. As we approach the early voting period it would also be wise to visit the websites of the local County Boards of Elections and the State Board of Elections to confirm this schedule.

• The General Election will be held on  Tuesday, November 8, 2016. Although one is allowed to vote “out-of-precinct” on Election Day, it would be advantageous for voters who wish to cast a “regular ballot” (rather than a provisional ballot) to confirm where they are assigned to vote. This step can alleviate the frustration that voters (accustomed to voting early) experience when waiting in line at one site, only to wind up traveling and waiting in line at another site. If a voter does vote out-of-precinct, only the contests for which the voter qualifies will count (example: President, Governor, etc.). Every precinct needs the active participation of its voters to elect candidates who will fairly and justly work in the best interest of the voters in the precinct.