The North Carolina NAACP and several local chapters have sued in federal court challenging anew voter photo identification law. They contend it suffers the same discriminatory flaws as a 2013 voter ID law struck down previously by federal judges.
The civil rights groups filed the lawsuit Thursday and announced details at a Raleigh news conference. It came a day after Republican legislators overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of their voter ID bill. Some voters filed a separate state court lawsuit challenging it right after Wednesday’s override.
The new law implements details of a constitutional referendum mandating voter ID approved last month. It expands the qualifying IDs compared to the 2013 law and provides exceptions, but NAACP attorney Irv Joyner says the requirements are still tainted by racial animus.