Background: On August 12, 2013, The Southern Coalition for Social Justice, American Civil Liberties Union, and ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation filed a lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s newly enacted voter suppression law, HB 589. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of several North Carolinians who will face substantial hardship under the law, and on behalf of the League of Women Voters of North Carolina, the North Carolina A. Philip Randolph Institute, North Carolina Common Cause, and Unifour Onestop Collaborative, whose efforts to promote voter participation in future elections will be severely hampered if the measure takes effect. The NAACP and the U.S. Department of Justice have also challenged the law.
In today’s hearing, the court granted our motion to compel the production of evidence on how the new law, including the cuts to early voting, be implemented. Access to this evidence will help us demonstrate the burden the new law creates on voters. Other issues, such as legislative privilege (whether plaintiffs will have access to documents from the legislature regarding HB 589) are under advisement and will be decided by the Court shortly.
Read SCSJ’s NC federal voter suppression suit summary here. Read the full complaint here. More information about the lawsuit may be found here.
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Southern Coalition for Social Justice
Partnering with communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities in the south to defend and advance their political, social and economic rights through the combination of legal advocacy, research, organizing and communications.