N.C. GOP urges appeal of judge’s decision blocking voter ID law

North Carolina’s Republican Party urged the state’s attorney general Friday to appeal a federal judge’s decision that would prohibit the state from requiring a photo ID to vote in the March 3 primary.

State GOP spokesman Jeff Hauser said the judge’s preliminary injunction “is yet another example of judges legislating from the bench.”

“This action, if it is allowed to stand, will invalidate the votes of millions of North Carolinians who voted overwhelmingly to implement voter ID and strengthen the integrity of N.C. elections,” Mr. Hauser said.

He said the party is calling on Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, “to appeal this decision and defend the voters of North Carolina.”

U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Biggs, an Obama appointee, said Thursday that she will issue a preliminary injunction next week that would block the state from requiring a photo ID to vote. Her full order will be released next week, and Mr. Stein’s office said he won’t decide on any possible appeal until reading the order.

The state will be hotly contested by President Trump and the eventual Democratic presidential nominee in 2020. Mr. Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in North Carolina by 3.6 percentage points in 2016.

The judge acted this week because the State Board of Elections had planned a statewide mailing to voters on Dec. 31 to inform them about the new photo ID requirement. The court’s notice allows for time to stop that mailing.

State House Speaker Tim Moore, a Republican, called on the state Board of Elections to appeal “this last-minute attempt by an activist federal judge to overturn the will of North Carolina voters,” according to WRAL.com.

“To issue an injunction against one of the nation’s most lenient voter ID laws —which 34 states already have — without providing an opinion is an outrageous affront to due process, the rights of North Carolina voters, and the rule of law,” Mr. Moore said in a statement.

In November 2018, a 55% majority of North Carolina voters approved an amendment to the state constitution requiring a photo ID to vote. Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, vetoed a measure to enacting the requirement but Republicans in the legislature overrode his veto.

The NAACP and others sued to stop the law, arguing that it would disproportionately hurt black and Hispanic voters who are less likely to have a photo ID. The state NAACP chapter’s president, Rev. T. Anthony Spearman, called the judge’s announcement this week a “major victory” against “voter suppression using voter identification to deter minority voting.”

“We will continue to ensure that communities of color have a full opportunity to elect representatives who will protect their interests in the state legislature,” he said in a statement.

Supporters of the law point out that free IDs will be made available to anyone who needs them, and that voters also can sign an affidavit verifying their identity and then vote by provisional ballot.

The law would also expand the number of poll watchers.

A 2013 state voter ID law was struck down as unconstitutional.