Protecting the Right to Vote in North Carolina

If advocates for voting rights want a level playing field in state courts, they must push for reforms to judicial selection.

Part of a Series

Idea of the Day

Idea of the Day

Between the 2012 and 2014 elections, the North Carolina Legislature passed a bill that cut early voting, ended preregistration, toughened standards for provisional ballots, created a voter ID requirement, and implemented other changes that could keep voters from casting a ballot. The bill came weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a provision of the Voting Rights Act that required states and counties with a history of voting discrimination, including much of North Carolina, to preclear voting changes with the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal court.

Given the lack of preclearance under the Voting Rights Act, advocates for voting rights have turned to state courts to protect access to the ballot by challenging stricter voter ID requirements and other voting laws.

For more on this idea, please see:

Voting Rights Advocates Turn To North Carolina Courts, Stacked by Campaign Cash by Billy Corriher

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