Challenge to North Carolina’s new voter ID requirement goes to trial

By GARY D. ROBERTSON
Associated Press

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Trial has started in a federal lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s photo voter identification law. The trial began Monday in Winston-Salem, more than five years after the NAACP sued over the voter ID law enacted by the Republican-dominated General Assembly. The litigation and a similar state lawsuit delayed implementation of the requirement until recently. The plaintiffs say the law violates the U.S. Constitution and Voting Rights Act and harms Black and Latino voters. Republican lawmakers defending the law say there are many more qualifying IDs compared with a 2013 voter ID law that was struck down. The trial could last several days. No immediate ruling is expected.