Supreme Court won’t reinstate North Carolina voter ID law

The U.S. Supreme Court today rejected a request to review a lower court decision striking down North Carolina’s voter ID law. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year the law intentionally discriminated against African-American voters. It required voters to show a photo ID before they could cast ballots and reduced the number of early voting days. Democrats celebrated the decision, but Chief Justice John Roberts said the ruling should not be interpreted as a comment on the substance of the law. North Carolina appealed the ruling against the law under then-Gov. Pat McCrory, a Republican. Current Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, tried to withdraw the appeal after his election in November. Roberts said the state’s political situation made it unclear who had authority to request a Supreme Court review. Despite today’s setback, Republicans vowed to continue efforts to enact a voter ID law that will pass constitutional muster. A similar law in Texas also failed to survive a court challenge.