On April 4, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued a landmark decision. In direct retaliation, they passed new rules dictating the terms of elections in the state right after the elections were finished. This extraordinary decision represents the first time in American history that a court has changed election rules retroactively after an election. The Court’s ruling temporarily placed more than 60,000 voters in jeopardy. The bureaucratic burden of proving their identity at the polls means their votes may be thrown out.
The most significant, galvanizing blow was when the North Carolina Supreme Court issued its devastating decision. They further limited the original court’s ruling, only requiring overseas voters to reestablish their eligibility within 30 days. This ruling has major implications. More importantly, it puts at risk the integrity of the state’s entire election results.
Allison Riggs won her seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court recently, prevailing by a narrow margin of only 734 votes. Today, she faces unprecedented challenges to her hard-fought election victory while still living in the eye of the controversy. With the stroke of a pen, this ruling has the power to upend election outcomes. This has drawn outrage and alarm from everyone, even now, with thousands of voters still in danger of disenfranchisement.
We applaud the North Carolina Republican Party for their initiative to warn voters of dangers to their incomplete ballots. They mailed postcards to people who had no driver’s license number or last four digits of their Social Security number listed in their voter files. The postcards threatened that their votes would be challenged. Military voters and their families are especially hurt by this. Millions of Americans will be hard pressed to meet the new ID standards.
Some of these thousands of voters are overseas voters. Many of them have never set foot in North Carolina or have not submitted sufficient identification. The North Carolina Supreme Court’s decision has in practice allowed for the disenfranchisement of 5,500 to 7,000 voters. This decision adds to the confusion of an already contentious electoral landscape.
In December, the North Carolina State Board of Elections threw out challenges to these votes. Now, Riggs is making an urgent case for federal intervention to prevent the court’s decision from being allowed to take effect. She emphasizes the broader implications of this situation, stating, “This is not just a North Carolina problem. This is an existential threat to democracy.”
“Riggs’ dedication to safeguarding voting rights is as steadfast as ever. “If folks want to pick a fight with the wrong person, I will not back down from defending the fundamental right to vote,” she declared.
Recent developments in North Carolina have made headlines across the country. Many advocates are concerned that the ruling further erodes the rights of voters and sets a troubling precedent for subsequent elections. Even more alarming is the way elections could be overturned based on technicalities. It strikes at the very heart of our core democracy and representation in the United States.
This is a fluid situation, but the stakes are high for the voters who have been cut out of the process. This further threatens the integrity of electoral processes nationwide. The fight against voter ID laws is still very much alive. On balance, their implications for democracy will ensure that this issue remains front and center in the years to come.