July, 07 2014, 11:29am EDT
North Carolina NAACP Heads to Winston-Salem on July 7 for Preliminary Injunction against Monster Voter Suppression Law, Followed by Moral Monday Rally
WINSTON-SALEM
The North Carolina NAACP returns to federal court today in Winston-Salem to fight for a preliminary injunction against the monster voter suppression law in order to protect North Carolinians from disenfranchisement during the Nov. 4 election. Shortly after the hearing concludes, people will gather with the Forward Together Movement for the first Moral March to the Polls rally a few blocks away to stand up for the franchise.
"The Forward Together Movement is fighting back against this extremist attempt to obstruct and hobble the votes of North Carolinians in the courts and in the streets of Winston-Salem on July 7," said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, president of the North Carolina NAACP. "This is the first voting law passed after the Shelby Co. v. Holder decision, and it reveals what will be conjured and passed in southern legislatures without the federal preclearance protections. Today's hearing in North Carolina is one with national implications. This is a fight for the voting rights here in North Carolina, in the South and indeed across the nation."
Led by Atty. Irving Joyner of NC Central Law; Atty. Adam Stein of Chapel Hill; Kirkland Ellis, LLP and Advancement Project, the NC NAACP legal team will argue that the new law will disproportionately disenfranchise people of color, the poor, students, the elderly and the disabled this November and should be enjoined to protect the fundamental voting rights of thousands of North Carolinians. If successful, the state would be forced to restore same-day registration, a full calendar of early voting, pre-registration for 16 and 17 year-olds and provisional ballots across precinct lines.
"This law - passed by Speaker Thom Tillis, Senate Leader Phil Berger and their extremist counterparts and then signed by Gov. Pat McCrory - represents the most egregious attempt at voter suppression since Jim Crow," Dr. Barber said. "In its scope and focus, this bill was never about the integrity of the vote or voter ID, but about politicians wrongfully identifying the voters they wanted to suppress and then passing a law that would seek to fulfill that purpose."
U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder scheduled the preliminary injunction hearing for Monday, July 7 through Thursday, July 10 of next week with the option to hold additional sessions on Friday, July 11 or Monday, July 14 if needed. Monday's hearing will begin at 9:30 am; the other three days will all begin at 9 am.
After the first day of the hearing concludes, people will gather nearby at Corpening Plaza starting at 5:30 pm for the first Moral March to the Polls rally. Moral leaders, policy experts and everyday people who have been hurt by this regressive public policy agenda at the NCGA will discuss the importance of getting out into the streets this summer to organize, mobilize, educate and register voters.
For more information about the legal claims, please see the NC NAACP's motion for a preliminary injunction and accompanying brief.
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