Federal Judge Upholds N.C. Voter ID Law

A federal judge has upheld a sweeping North Carolina law that requires residents to show photo identification before voting. In a 485-page ruling issued Monday, Thomas D. Schroeder of the Federal District Court in Winston-Salem wrote that the law served a “legitimate state interest” with the aim to “detect and deter fraud.” Schroeder upheld all parts of the Republican-backed 2013 law, which includes the ID requirement, reducing the early voting period, and ending same-day registration. Critics of the law argue it targets black and Hispanic voter participation. North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, who enacted the bill in August 2013, said the “ruling further affirms that requiring a photo ID in order to vote is not only common sense, it’s constitutional.”