Court Rejects NC Lawmakers’ Attempt to Withhold Email Related to Passage of Sweeping Voter Suppression Law
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: 212-549-2666, media@aclu.org
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – A U.S. District Court judge today upheld a magistrate’s ruling that rejects an effort by some North Carolina lawmakers to withhold emails and other communications related to passage of the state’s sweeping voter suppression law.
“This ruling means lawmakers will no longer be allowed to hide behind a veil of secrecy,” said Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “If politicians are going to tamper with people’s fundamental right to vote, we deserve to know why.”
Immediately after Gov. Pat McCrory signed the voter suppression bill into law last August, the ACLU, the ACLU of North Carolina, and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice filed their legal challenge. The suit targets provisions that eliminate a week of early voting, end same-day registration, and prohibit “out-of-precinct” voting. The groups charge that enacting these provisions would unduly burden the right to vote and discriminate against African-American voters, in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
“This ruling is terrific news for every North Carolinian who values integrity and transparency in our elections,” said Chris Brook, legal director for the ACLU of North Carolina.
The case, League of Women Voters of North Carolina et al. v. North Carolina, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. It was brought on behalf of several North Carolinians who will face substantial hardship under the law, and on behalf of the League of Women Voters of North Carolina, the North Carolina A. Philip Randolph Institute, North Carolina Common Cause, and Unifour Onestop Collaborative, whose efforts to promote voter participation in future elections will be severely hampered.
“This decision will help the court get a fuller picture of why the voting changes at stake are so detrimental to North Carolina voters,” said Southern Coalition for Social Justice attorney Allison Riggs.
Read the order at acluofnc.org
More information about this case is available at:
aclu.org/voting-rights/league-women-voters-north-carolina-et-al-v-north-carolina
Stay Informed
Every month, you'll receive regular roundups of the most important civil rights and civil liberties developments. Remember: a well-informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.
By completing this form, I agree to receive occasional emails per the terms of the ACLU’s privacy policy.
The Latest in Voting Rights
-
New Motions Filed in Lawsuit Challenging Georgia’s Omnibus Anti-Voter Law Seek to Defend Against Racial Discrimination and Remove Barriers to Absentee Voting
-
Voting and Immigrants’ Rights Advocates Sue Over New Florida Law That Targets Voter Registration, Civic Engagement, and Political Speech
-
Honoring the Past, Paving the Future: Enhancing Voter Registration
-
Here's How Georgia's New Voting Law Harms Voters With Disabilities
ACLU's Vision
The American Civil Liberties Union is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America.
Learn More About Voting Rights
Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy and the fundamental right upon which all our civil liberties rest. The ACLU works to protect and expand Americansʼ freedom to vote.