The Fourth
Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down provisions of Gov. Pat McCrory’s “omnibus”
election law requiring photo identification in form blacks are less likely to
have and requiring changes to early voting, same-day registration,
out-of-precinct voting, and preregistration all in ways carefully calculated to
adversely affect black voters. The full
text of the opinion merits careful reading and can be found here. The bill’s “almost surgical precision” (the
Court’s words) in disenfranchising black voters should shock everyone’s
conscience regardless of party affiliation.
Though
highlights of the opinion are no substitute for reading the entire opinion, I
realize not everyone will have time to read the entire opinion. I therefore have redacted some of the
critical language and insert it below in the order appearing in the
opinion. I have omitted or shortened internal
citations and have bolded certain provisions that seemed particularly important
to me. Although this is no substitute
for reading the opinion in full, here goes:
