Because it’s 2020 and racism is still alive and well, we have North Carolina, whose new voter identification law just hit a snag—and by snag, I mean it’s apparently sorta-kinda racist.
From Reuters:
A North Carolina appeals court on Tuesday blocked the state’s voter identification law from going into effect, finding it was a discriminatory attempt to suppress the black vote, in a victory for Democrats and voting rights advocates.
And what exactly made it racist? A three-judge panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals determined that the Republican legislature deliberately attempted to discriminate against me and you, your momma, and your cousin too by requiring voters to present ID before casting their ballot, buuuuuut, reportedly, a specific type of ID primarily used by black folks wasn’t allowed.
You don’t say!
“Such a choice speaks more of an intention to target African American voters rather than a desire to comply with the newly created Amendment in a fair and balanced manner,” the judges wrote in their opinion. “Defendants have yet to show [the law] would have been enacted in its current form irrespective of any alleged underlying discriminatory intent.”
The law was blocked by a preliminary injunction that will remain in place while this all plays out in court. And should the lawsuit remain unsettled by November, photo identification won’t be required to vote Trump out of office.
“Democrats know democracy works best when we break down barriers to the ballot box,” the North Carolina Democratic Party told The Hill in a statement. “That’s why we’re glad that a second court has struck down the GOP’s discriminatory Voter ID law—and we promise to keep fighting until everyone can vote freely and fairly.”
Voter suppression in North Carolina isn’t exactly a new phenomenon. For decades, Republicans have tried everything from eliminating the opportunity to vote on college campuses, to forcing black folks to vote on weekdays, to the Trump Administration demanding millions of records about voters right before the 2018 midterms.
Hell, in 2019, a woman working for Republican congressional candidate Mark Harris openly admitted to falsifying absentee ballots.
It’s abundantly clear that North Carolina doesn’t play fair when it comes to black voters, so hopefully, this voter ID policy dies a miserable death in court.