North Carolina Voter ID Trial Begins Ahead of Pivotal Election

A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of North Carolina’s voter ID law went to trial on May 6, with a civil rights group charging that it discriminates against black and Hispanic voters.

The non-jury trial, held in Winston-Salem, comes at a crucial juncture as voters are gearing up to select the next president of the United States.

“This case is about impermissible and intentional racial discrimination,” Kathleen Roblez, an attorney for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), told U.S. District Judge Loretta Biggs, asserting that the state’s requirement for voters to present a qualifying photo ID to vote “has already produced a discriminatory result for black and brown voters.”

The disputed law was enacted in 2018 by North Carolina’s GOP-controlled General Assembly. It passed just weeks after voters approved a constitutional amendment mandating photo ID, though its implementation was delayed until last year’s municipal elections due to the lawsuit filed by the North Carolina NAACP and local chapters.

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