A federal judge has upheld North Carolina's photo voter identification law, ruling in favor of Republican legislative leaders who passed the measure in late 2018 weeks after voters approved a constitutional amendment supporting the requirement.

U.S. District Judge Loretta Biggs issued a 134-page decision on Thursday in a lawsuit filed by the state NAACP and local chapters, setting aside arguments that Republicans enacted the ID requirement with discriminatory intent against Black and Latino voters. The decision marks a significant legal victory for state Senate leader Phil Berger and other Republican lawmakers.

What the Left Is Saying

State NAACP President Deborah Dicks Maxwell called Thursday's decision deeply disappointing, saying it ignores real and documented barriers that voter ID laws create for certain voters. The NAACP had argued at trial that Republican legislators passed the voter ID law to entrench their political power by discouraging people historically aligned with Democrats from voting.

Civil rights groups contended that the burden to obtain IDs falls more heavily on Black and Hispanic voters, resulting in a disparate impact on racial minority voters who may not possess the required identification on Election Day. The plaintiffs noted North Carolina's history of race discrimination and voter suppression as context for evaluating the law's intent.

The NAACP had not yet decided whether to appeal the ruling as of Thursday. Biggs had previously issued a preliminary injunction in 2019 blocking enforcement of the law, saying it was tainted by a 2013 voter ID law that was struck down on similar grounds of racial bias.

What the Right Is Saying

Republican legislative leaders hailed Thursday's ruling as vindication of the law's constitutionality. Senate leader Phil Berger said in a news release that the decision allows the state to put to rest any doubt about the voter ID law's validity.

Lawyers for Republican lawmakers defended the law by arguing that Republicans wouldn't have passed one of the most permissive voter ID laws among states if their goal was to entrench themselves in state politics. They emphasized that the 2018 law contains many more categories of qualifying ID than was allowed under the previously approved 2013 voter ID law that was struck down.

The defense argued the General Assembly had legitimate state interests in building voter confidence in elections and preventing voter fraud, even though nationwide voter identity fraud remains rare. They further argued the law is race-neutral on its face.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had previously reversed Biggs' preliminary injunction, writing that she had placed too much emphasis on the past conduct of the General Assembly when evaluating the 2018 law. That ruling influenced her Thursday decision.

What the Numbers Show

North Carolina's 2018 voter ID law has been in effect since the 2023 municipal elections, including the March 3 primary where results were certified Wednesday. The law offers free ID cards for voting at county election offices statewide and at the Division of Motor Vehicles.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 36 states have laws requesting or requiring identification at the polls, with 23 of those seeking photo ID. North Carolina's law is considered among the more permissive in the nation, accepting a broader range of IDs than many other states.

In her ruling, Biggs noted that while evidence suggested the burden to obtain IDs fell more heavily on Black and Hispanic voters, she was bound by precedent requiring deference to the presumption that lawmakers acted in good faith. The court wrote it was compelled by controlling case law to side with legislative leaders and the state elections board.

The Bottom Line

Thursday's ruling allows North Carolina's photo voter ID requirement to remain in effect as the legal battle continues. The decision represents a significant win for Republicans who championed the 2018 law as a way to increase election integrity, while civil rights groups argue the law disproportionately affects minority voters.

The case now faces a potential appeal from the NAACP, which must decide whether to pursue further litigation. The law remains operational for upcoming elections, and voters without photo ID can still have their votes count by filling out an exception form or bringing identification to election officials before final tallies are certified.

The case highlights broader tensions over voting rights in battleground states, where both parties continue to clash over access and security measures ahead of future elections.