Voting rights advocates argued in a Wake County court on Friday that a new state law requiring voters to show photo identification at polling stations is unconstitutional because it will create a barrier to voting, keeping primarily minorities from the ballot.
Lawyers argued the ID requirement would create a class of people who have identification and can vote and second class who do not have identification and cannot vote.
The ID requirement, which is scheduled to take effect in 2016, would create a class of people who have identification and can vote and second class who do not have identification and cannot vote, said Press Millen, an attorney representing several people who filed suit. Other groups filing included the League of Women Voters and the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP.
"You're creating an entire class of people who would otherwise be qualified to vote but can't," Millen said in Superior Court in Wake County.
In response, Special Deputy Attorney General Alec Peters said the photo identification isn't a new requirement for voting but a different way of proving exiting requirements for voting.
Superior Court Judge Michael Morgan said he would issue a ruling by the third week of February on whether the case would merit a full trial. He said the trial would be scheduled for July 13.
