DURHAM – Today the U.S. Supreme Court denied North Carolina’s application to recall and stay the mandate entered by the Fourth Circuit on July 29th, 2016. The Fourth Circuit mandate struck down five racially discriminatory provisions of HB 589, including the Voter ID requirement. This ruling validates the victory of the people of North Carolina, leaving in place the prohibition on those discriminatory provisions for the upcoming November election. This denial follows the Court of Appeals’ finding in July that discriminatory intent impermissibly motivated Gov. Pat. McCrory and the General Assembly to enact HB 589. The NC NAACP State Conference released the following statement:
“Today we achieved another major victory for justice, African Americans, Latinos, and all North Carolinians,” said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, president of the North Carolina NAACP. “The highest Court in the land has rejected the State’s efforts to implement election provisions found by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to have been enacted with discriminatory intent. This critical rejection of the State’s position will allow the people of North Carolina to exercise the fundamental right to vote this November without expansive restrictions by racist politicians or racist policies. North Carolina voters will not be asked to show a restrictive and discriminatory Photo ID at the polls this November. Early voting will begin on October 20th and will include the option of Same-Day-Registration, allowing all eligible voters to be able to register and vote at the same time during the Early Voting period. Votes cast by eligible voters in the wrong precinct but the right county will be counted on election day in North Carolina and “pre-registration” of youth aged 16 and 17 is once again available in the state.”
“The NC NAACP State conference and all of its local branches are reinforced by this ruling, as we continue our mobilization efforts to educate and assist local communities on the voting mechanisms available to them in the upcoming election. We urge the State of North Carolina and Gov. McCrory to accept -as the Supreme Court has affirmed today- that racially discriminatory laws have no place at the ballot box. Politics as usual is no longer acceptable in our State, and the legislature cannot erect barriers to plainly undermine the growing voting strength of African American and Latino voters. It is time to move forward toward a shared prosperous future for all North Carolinians and to heal the core of our democracy in this State and in this nation.”
