Supreme Court refuses to reinstate North Carolina’s restrictive voting law

The court refused to allow Republican-ordered restrictive voting to stand.

The high court rejected the state’s bid to halt much of the federal appeals court ruling, dividing 4-4 along ideological lines on the central questions. The rebuff — issued without explanation — is a victory for the Obama administration and civil rights groups, which challenged the North Carolina law and won a ruling that is likely to help Democrats in November.

The North Carolina law imposed photo-identification requirements, reduced the number of early-voting days and eliminated same-day registration and out-of-precinct voting.

A three-judge panel said the provisions “target African Americans with almost surgical precision,” violating the Constitution’s equal protection guarantee and the Voting Rights Act. A federal trial judge had upheld the law.

The state’s Supreme Court bid sought to reinstate the photo-ID requirement and early-voting limits for the November election. It didn’t address the rules governing same-day registration and out-of-precinct voting.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Anthony Kennedy voted to grant the core parts of the request, falling one vote short of the required five. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan voted against the state.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.