As Twitchy reported, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month overturned voter ID legislation in Texas signed into law by former Gov. Rick Perry in 2011. The courts found that in a country where it’s supposedly easier for a child to get his hands on a Glock than a book or a Happy Meal, securing a photo ID was too burdensome and expensive for minorities and the poor, even when the state provided them free of charge.
On Friday, courts overturned voter ID laws in two more states: Wisconsin and North Carolina.
Judge strikes down parts of Wisconsin voter ID, early voting law https://t.co/abmKhXM3fW pic.twitter.com/GVSAv6oSuv
— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) July 30, 2016
A court struck down North Carolina's voting law that cut early voting days & banned same-day voter registration https://t.co/L3ivgwCddq
— FRONTLINE (@frontlinepbs) July 30, 2016
A big win for voting rights & democracy – proud to see US appeals court struck down NC's voter discrimination law https://t.co/0ven8324yw
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) July 30, 2016
Republican Governors Pat McCrory, Sam Brownback, & Scott Walker all violated the Constitution. They all lost today. pic.twitter.com/ss9NT8hNBo
— Matt Murphy (@MattMurph24) July 30, 2016
AG @LorettaLynch addresses 4th Circuit's decision to strike down #NorthCarolina voting restrictions: pic.twitter.com/Okv7h6z9T2
— Paula Reid (@PaulaReidCBS) July 29, 2016
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals found that North Carolina’s 2013 voter ID law was passed “with racially discriminatory intent,” by the state legislature and that African-Americans were targeted “with almost surgical precision.”
The court ruled that the state legislature, in writing the law, had examined data showing that blacks “disproportionately lacked the most common kind of photo ID, those issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles,” and that prohibiting same-day registration and placing restrictions on early voting would have an outsized impact on African-Americans.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch praised the ruling, but Gov. Pat McCrory said in a statement that he’d appeal the ruling, noting that photo IDs are required to purchase Sudafed, cash a check, board an airplane, or enter a federal courtroom.
What do you get when Loretta Lynch joins 3 Democrat judges in North Carolina? A violation of State's Rights. -VJhttps://t.co/7t4mlaC1zd
— RealVinnieJames (@RealVinnieJames) July 30, 2016
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker also said an appeal was likely.
Disappointed in the decision by an activist federal judge. Voters support common-sense measures to protect the integrity of our votes.
— Governor Walker (@GovWalker) July 30, 2016
Voting should be easy, but cheating should be hard. We are working with the Attorney General in what will likely be an appeal.
— Governor Walker (@GovWalker) July 30, 2016
Some, including McCrory, noted that a photo ID was necessary for delegates and media to enter the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, once they made it past the protesters and the 8-foot border fence.
You needed a photo ID to be a delegate at the DNC Convention. Hypocrites! https://t.co/wy79vZGG6s #NCVoterID #ncpol
— Pat McCrory (@PatMcCroryNC) July 29, 2016
https://twitter.com/peddoc63/status/759385115927740417
https://twitter.com/Leannbe/status/759497487769927685
https://twitter.com/JaredWyand/status/759214378856185859
https://twitter.com/JaredWyand/status/759193247868653568
https://twitter.com/averagejoe1967/status/759525332755943424
But those aren’t rights guaranteed by the Constitution, like, say, the right to bear arms.
Since Democrats insist voter ID laws are evil since it's a constitutional right, doesn't that mean ID checks to buy a gun are unnecessary?
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) July 30, 2016
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