A status report filed Monday by the Plaintiffs’ legal team indicated legal claims against the photo ID provision “may be able to be resolved through discussions and negotiations with Defendants.”
A separate status report filed by Defense attorneys asked Judge Thomas D. Schroeder to dismiss the claims entirely.
Photo ID One Part of a Complex Law
The ID provision, which requires all North Carolina voters to present one of eight government-approved photo IDs at the polls starting in 2016, is part of the state’s Voter Information Verification Act (VIVA), a sweeping overhaul of North Carolina voting law signed into law by Gov. Pat McCrory in August 2013.
Other VIVA provisions, including cuts to early voting, ending same-day voter registration and prohibiting out-of-precinct ballots, were challenged in federal court last month.
Photo ID Provision Dropped from Trial
Both status reports were filed in response to a written order by Judge Schroeder on June 26, 2015.
On June 22 the North Carolina General Assembly amended the photo ID provision to allow voters without a photo ID to sign a ‘reasonable impediment declaration’ and provide either their date of birth, the last four digits of their Social Security number or present a voter registration card. Voters using the declaration would be offered a provisional ballot.
In response, lawyers for the Plaintiffs asked the Judge to drop consideration of the photo ID provision from the upcoming trial so they could assess the impact of the change. Judge Schroeder ordered both sides to file a status report saying how they would like to handle the voter ID provision by noon on August 17.
Negotiate or Dismiss?
In their status report, Plaintiffs’ attorneys emphasized they still believe the photo ID provision will “unduly burden the right to vote,” but said they were willing to negotiate with Defense attorneys and offered to report on the status of those negotiations on September 18.
In their status report, Defense attorneys said all claims against the photo ID provision should be dismissed. They pointed to an August 5 decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. That court struck down Texas’ voter ID law on the grounds it violated the Voting Rights Act, but suggested a lower court could salvage the law by adding an affidavit option similar to the reasonable impediment declaration.
