Case Summary
Southern Coalition for Social Justice brought this challenge in 2023 to new restrictions on Same-Day Registration in North Carolina on behalf of three voting non-profits (Democracy North Carolina, N.C. Black Alliance, and the League of Women Voters of North Carolina) with assistance from co-counsel Steptoe LLP.
In their complaint filed in the Middle District of North Carolina, plaintiffs allege the new Same-Day Registration restrictions in SB 747 place an unconstitutional burden on the fundamental right to vote in violation of the 14th Amendment and intentionally targets young North Carolinians in violation of the 26th Amendment. SB 747 places the fate of a ballot cast using same-day registration on whether a single piece of mail reaches that voter. If that piece of mail goes undelivered — by accident, negligence, or otherwise — the voter’s ballot is thrown out and their registration is canceled, with no notice provided and no opportunity to be heard. Young North Carolinian's use Same-Day Registration with more frequency than other voters.
Why it's Important
Case Documents
Related Media
Civil rights groups file lawsuit against youth voting restrictions
SCSJ Condemns Voting Omnibus Bill as Blatant Disenfranchisement
Passed under the pretext of "election protection," SB 747's restrictions on Same-Day Registration reflect a disturbing trend seen across the South in which legislators cite the repeatedly disproved claims of fraud and impropriety around the 2020 election to justify further restrictions on the right to vote. North Carolina voters are paying a severe cost through these changes, which operate at every turn to make voting harder, less certain, and less accessible. Young voters, who already vote at disproportionately lower levels than other age groups, have become the target of further voter suppression.
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This was a North Carolina state court defamation case on behalf of four registered voters (Louis M. Bouvier, Jr., Karen Andrea Niehans, Samuel R. Niehans, and Joseph D. Golden) who were wrongfully accused of committing fraud in the 2016 elections by voting in multiple states or being ineligible to vote because of felony convictions.
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