Thousands of NC residents serving a felony sentence can now vote. Here’s what to know.

Thousands of formerly incarcerated North Carolina residents serving a felony sentence can now register to vote.

It remains unclear if further court rulings may affect their eligibility, but for now, they can vote in the November general election.

Previously, under North Carolina law, people serving a felony sentence could not register or vote until their sentence ended, including any period of probation, parole or post-release supervision. They also had to pay all legal financial obligations before they could vote.

How did we get here?

In 2019, a coalition of nonprofits challenged the law. They filed a lawsuit in Wake County Superior Court against government officials, including House Speaker Tim Moore, Senate leader Phil Berger and the State Board of Elections.

In the lawsuit, known as Community Success Initiative v. Moore, the nonprofits argued that this disenfranchisement of formerly incarcerated voters was unconstitutional, that it disproportionately affected Black residents, and that voters should not have to wait to be eligible to vote but should have those rights restored after leaving prison or jail. In the United States, voter laws for those formerly incarcerated vary by state. In some states, people can vote while in prison, while in other states people with felonies are permanently barred from voting.

What followed this lawsuit was years of back and forth: a slew of rulings, appeals and counter appeals were filed. On April 26, the N.C. Court of Appeals ruled that felons could not vote during the May primary and July 26 elections.

But starting July 27 after these two elections, the appeals court ruled, a previous ruling by a Superior Court must take effect. The Superior court, also called a trial court, is below the appellate courts. This trial court had ruled that North Carolinians with prior felony convictions must be allowed to register and vote.

How many people are newly eligible to vote?

This decision grants more than 56,000 individuals the right to vote and marks the largest expansion of voting rights in the state since the 1960s Voting Rights Act, according to a press release issued by Repairers of the Breach, a nonprofit advocacy group.

Is this permanent?

The decision is not final. In May, the state Supreme Court agreed to take over the lawsuit rather than wait for the appeals judges to decide whether it was right for the superior court to loosen restrictions, The Associated Press reported.

The State Board of Elections issued a statement Tuesday. Based on the superior court determinations, “an individual serving a felony sentence who is not in jail or prison may register to vote and vote,” the board wrote.

For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Under the Dome politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it at https://campsite.bio/underthedome or wherever you get your podcasts.