Wake County Superior Court Judge Sends Case to Three-Judge Panel
RALEIGH, N.C. – On Wednesday, Wake County Superior Judge Vince Rozier, Jr. issued an order that allows a state constitutional challenge to North Carolina’s voter ID law to move forward in front of a three-judge panel. Chief Justice Beasley will appoint the three members of the panel. The case was heard by Judge Rozier on March 4. Plaintiffs in the case brought the challenge immediately after the voter ID enabling legislation went into effect when the Legislature overrode Gov. Cooper’s veto.
“We appreciate that the court recognized that the voters who brought their case deserve to have a full hearing in front of a three-judge panel,” said Allison Riggs, Senior Voting Rights Attorney for the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. “We look forward to representing plaintiffs as they continue to challenge this discriminatory and unconstitutional law.”
All six of the claims brought forth by the plaintiffs will now proceed to the three-judge panel. One part of a claim brought by plaintiffs was dismissed by the judge because none of the plaintiffs in the case who were under the age of sixty-five possessed an acceptable state-issued ID that was more than one year expired.
The Southern Coalition for Social Justice is representing plaintiffs in the case, along with pro-bono counsel from the New York law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. The Southern Coalition for Social Justice also represented plaintiffs who successfully challenged the state’s 2013 monster voter suppression law that was ultimately struck down by the U.S Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
More information about this case and subsequent filings will be available at https://southerncoalition.org/voterid/