Supreme Court rules for GOP lawmakers in voter ID case

The Supreme Court gave Republican legislative leaders in North Carolina a victory in their fight against a photo identification voting law.

The voter ID law is not currently in effect and has been challenged in both state and federal court. The decision makes it possible for Republican legislative leaders to defend the law. The Legislature's interests were already being represented by the state's attorney general.

The people of North Carolina have authorized the leaders of their legislature to defend state statutes. It is normal for a federal court to respect that type of choice.

The justice disagreed.

The voter ID requirement was included in the state constitution. The law at issue in the case was passed by lawmakers. The law requires voters to show a photo ID if they want to cast a ballot.

Legislators overrode Roy Cooper's veto of the bill. The NAACP and several local chapters sued in federal court to stop enforcement of the law, arguing that it discriminates against Black and Latino voters.

House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger wanted to join lawyers for the state in the federal court case to defend the law. The judge said that Stein's lawyers were defending the interests of the lawmakers. Lawmakers shouldn't be allowed to intervene after a three-judge federal appeals court panel ruled in favor of them.

The judge in the case ruled that the law was impermissibly motivated, at least in part, by discrimination. The appeals panel reversed her decision and sent it back to the district court.

The law was struck down due to racial bias. The case will be taken up by the Supreme Court of North Carolina.

North Carolina's highest court heard arguments in a lawsuit over whether the voter ID amendment should have been on the ballot. The legislature didn't have the power to put the amendment on the ballot because they had been elected from racially biased districts. After the decision was overturned, it went to the state's highest court.

That's right.

Gary D. Robertson is a reporter for the AP.