North Carolina voting law declared unconstitutional for discriminating against Black voters

Felons in North Carolina who have not completed their full sentence, including probation time, are barred from voting in North Carolina elections.

An 1877 law further restricted these voters by imposing an up to two-year sentence in prison if they attempted to vote, even if they believed they re-gained eligibility.

The law was challenged by the North Carolina A. Philip Randolph Institute and Action NC. They argued that the law was intentionally racially discriminatory and requested a summary judgment for the law to be struck down.

Judge Loretta Biggs from the U.S. District Court of the middle district of North Carolina did just that on Monday by declaring the law unconstitutional.

The law “made it a felony for a North Carolinian to vote while on parole, probation, or post-release supervision for a felony conviction, even if they mistakenly believed or were told in error by election workers or their parole officers that they were eligible to vote,” according to Biggs’ report.

More specifically, Biggs found that the law violated the equal protection and due process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections said there are three current cases that will be affected by the changing of the law, all of which are from municipal elections in 2023.

More: Are Black voters in North Carolina at risk with redistricting maps under litigation?

Mitchell D. Brown, senior counsel for voting rights at Southern Coalition for Social Justice, said the law had a chilling effect on political involvement, especially for Black voters in the state.

“One of our former clients said that he no longer wants to vote, and he’s going to tell his children never to vote,” Brown said in an interview. “So we see this generational voter disenfranchisement because of a simple mistake of whether the fact he was eligible or not.”

Brown also noted that the process is confusing for this group.

They may not know that completing their sentence includes completing probation. Brown also said that the state is supposed to give information to these people on the restoration of their rights. He is not confident this is happening adequately and said he hopes the state can be audited on the information they provide to these voters.

The plaintiffs argued that when the law was first instituted it was created with racially discriminatory intentions. It was common sense at the time that incarcerated people were primarily Black folks, thus disproportionately affecting them, they argued.

The law continued to affect primarily Black voters years later.

About 22% of the Tar Heel state’s population is Black, but between 2015 and 2022, about 60% of those investigated on grounds of this voting law were Black, the plaintiff argued according to Biggs’ report.

Brown said this ruling will protect Black voters.

“Judge Biggs’ decision will help ensure that voters who mistakenly think they are eligible to cast a ballot will not be criminalized for simply trying to re-engage in the political process and perform their civic duty,” Brown said in a press release on Tuesday.

The state has 30 days after the ruling to start an appeal process.

Jon Youngwood, co-chair of Simpson Thacher’s Litigation Department, said in an interview this case has come full circle.

“We filed this case in the fall of 2020 before the last presidential election, and its 2024 and we’re just pleased we now have a firm decision and that this law is off the books for the next round of elections,” Youngwood said.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: NC voting law declared unconstitutional for discriminating