SCOTUS Refuses To Overturn Decision To Block North Carolina Voting Restrictions

In another victory for voting rights, the Supreme Court today split 4-4 on a request from North Carolina to grant a stay from a lower court’s decision to block voting restrictions the state was trying to implement this year. The decision effectively blocks North Carolina from implementing five types of voting restrictions – a photo ID requirement, a cutback to early voting, the elimination of same day registration, a ban of out-of-precinct voting and a prohibition on pre-registration of young voters – for the 2016 election. The lower court also stated in its ruling that these measures targeted African-Americans “with almost surgical precision”. Incredibly, four Supreme Court justices felt that that was just fine.