Dec 17, 2022 - Politics & Policy

North Carolina's Supreme Court strikes down voter ID law

Sareen Habeshian

A voter fills out a ballot on Nov. 8 in Winston-Salem, N.C. Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images

The North Carolina Supreme Court struck down a state voter identification law Friday, ruling that it had a "racially discriminatory purpose" against Black voters.

Driving the news: "The provisions enacted … were formulated with an impermissible intent to discriminate against African American voters in violation of the North Carolina Constitution," Associate Justice Anita Earls wrote in the 89-page ruling obtained by the Washington Post.

Details: Senate Bill 824 required voters to show one of a few specific forms of photo ID, which the state's Supreme Court justices found Friday was in part to discriminate against Black voters.

In its ruling in Holmes v. Moore, the court ruled that while the law appeared neutral on its face, the Republican majority "targeted voters who, based on race, were unlikely to vote for the majority party."

Background: Senate Bill 824 was passed in 2018 by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature even after its Democratic governor vetoed it.

It was passed during a lame-duck session before the party lost its supermajority.

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North Carolina's Supreme Court strikes down voter ID law

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