Right decision: NAACP had a weak case for overturning voter ID law

A federal appeals court judge has ruled against a last-minute challenge by the NAACP and others to stop voter identification laws from taking effect in North Carolina's March 15 primary.

We think he made the right decision.

U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Schrodor denied a preliminary injunction motion by the civil rights organization that would have blocked the new photo identification requirement from becoming law.

Schrodor wrote in his official opinion that the NAACP lawyers had failed to show that the requirement was overly burdensome and added that the claim that the public had not been educated sufficiently about the new rule was not true.

Officials with the state have done, the judge said, a good job of educating people on the new law. Moreover, he said, changing the regulations just before the vote would likely cause more confusion at the polls.

The NAACP should urge compliance with the law.

Showing a photo identification at the polls simply should not be that big of a deal.

Published in Editorials on January 19, 2016 11:31 AM