Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for Republican state legislative leaders to join in a lawsuit challenging their 2018 voter ID law. Legislators persuaded the court they should be able to hire outside counsel to represent the legislature as an interested party separately from the State of North Carolina, represented traditionally by the Attorney General.
This procedural decision allows those legislators to join the case as intervenors, giving them the opportunity to advance motions, appeals, and arguments that Attorney General Josh Stein may find to be without merit on the State’s behalf. The case now returns to the U.S. District Court for a trial on the merits, with the legislative leaders as a party. The state branch of the NAACP brought the case on behalf of voters potentially affected by the law.
On top of this case, there are multiple legal challenges against the voter ID law still pending in both state and federal courts. Due to these ongoing challenges, the law remains on hold.
We oppose this law and other legislative efforts to make voting more difficult. Voting is the primary way for North Carolinians to hold legislators and other public officials accountable for pro-polluter policies.
