A federal judge upheld the Horth Carolina voting ID law, stating that the new requirements it demanded won't affect the minority voters living in the state. Civil rights groups against the law said that they will appeal the case immediately.
As reported by CNN, Federal District Court Judge Thomas D. Schroeder upheld the new law that has been a controversial topic since it was signed. The judge's court decision supported the law that requires a photo ID card to be presented when voting.
It also terminated seven days of early voting as well as the same day registration. Moreover, it also repealed the provision allowing voters to cast their ballot in a different precinct. "In sum, plaintiffs have failed to show that any North Carolinian who wishes to vote faces anything other than the 'usual burdens of voting," Schroeder stated in his ruling.
The North Carolina voting law was passed in 2013 and was created to prevent voter fraud. As reported by Reuters, Gov. Pat McCrory who signed the law gave his statement in support of Schroeder's ruling. "This ruling further affirms that requiring a photo ID in order to vote is not only common sense, it's constitutional," McCrory said.
However, according to The Guardian, the latest ruling did not sit well with rights groups who expressed their dissatisfaction and vowed to submit an appeal on the case. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) stressed that the new ruling will greatly affect the minority and could affect the overall turn out of the election.
"We know that people, African Americans, Latinos, women, and students have been disenfranchised by this voter suppression law and we are appealing immediately," Reverend William J Barber of NAACP stated.
The civil rights organization, Advancement Project also disagreed on Schroeder's decision. The new voting law came about after the Supreme Court's decision in 2013 to give freedom to nine states, including North Carolina, to alter their voting law without federal approval.
