North Carolina judge allows voter ID case to proceed
[JURIST] A North Carolina Superior Court [official website] judge on Wednesday refused to dismiss [order, PDF] a case challenging the state's new voter identification requirement. Recently, North Carolina reformed its voter ID law [text, PDF] by creating a provision that states that if one has "reasonable impediment" to receiving a state ID then they may have their vote count on election day. The plaintiffs, however, believe that the amendments do not go far enough. North Carolina state attorneys had filed a motion to dismiss the case arguing that the reforms to the law address and cure any legal issue with the voter ID requirement. Judge Michael Morgan denied the motion to dismiss the case, finding that the lawsuit brings up issues that were not challenged in the previous cases dealing with the voter ID law. Morgan also postponed all proceedings until after the presidential primary to be held in March of next year.
Voting rights have been a contentious issue in the US recently. In May the New Hampshire Supreme Court struck down [JURIST report] a 2012 law requiring voters to be state residents, not just domiciled in the state. In March the US Supreme Court denied certiorari [JURIST report] in Frank v. Walker, allowing Wisconsin's voter identification law to stand. Wisconsin's Act 23, which requires residents to present photo ID to vote, was struck down by a federal district court but reinstated [JURIST reports] by the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in September. Also in March Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a new law [JURIST report] that made Oregon the first state in the nation to institute automatic voter registration. In November a federal appeals court rejected [JURIST report] a Kansas rule that required prospective voters to show proof-of-citizenship documents before registering using a federal voter registration form. Also in November Illinois voters approved the Illinois Right to Vote Amendment [JURIST report] which bans all voter discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or income.
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