NAACP appeals challenge to voter ID + Will SCOTUS gerrymandering case affect NC?
Good morning and welcome to your Under the Dome newsletter. I’m democracy reporter Kyle Ingram.
Wednesday was a slower day at the legislature, with both chambers only passing one bill — a collection of local measures that had its most controversial aspects scrapped a day earlier.
Nationally, the U.S. Supreme Court released a major decision, in which the court’s conservative majority weakened the Voting Rights Act in a redistricting case out of Louisiana.
Speaking to reporters after session, North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall said the case likely doesn’t impact the state, which already redrew its map last fall to give Republicans another seat in Congress.
“I don’t anticipate us drawing any more maps this session,” he said.
Challenge to voter ID appealed to circuit court
After a federal court upheld North Carolina’s voter ID law last month, challengers in the case — which include the NAACP — appealed the ruling to the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Wednesday.
The long-running case began in 2018, when the NAACP sued and argued that the voter ID requirement discriminates against Black and Latino voters, who are less likely to have a photo identification.
Republican lawmakers, however, have argued that the law had broad accommodations to minimize disenfranchisement, noting that voters without IDs are allowed to fill out an exception form and cast a provisional ballot.
In the court’s ruling last month, U.S. District Judge Loretta Biggs, an appointee of President Barack Obama, wrote that she agreed the law could have a disparate impact on racial and ethnic minorities, but that recent precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court required her to uphold it
The case will now head to the 4th Circuit, which has eight judges appointed by Democratic presidents and seven appointed by Republicans.
Headlines you won’t want to miss
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- Sen. Thom Tillis wins Federal Reserve battle with DOJ, now backs Warsh nomination
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- Raleigh’s Friday teacher protest guide: Schools closed, march route & more
- NC lawmakers approve $319 million Medicaid deal packed with policy changes
- What does DEI repeal really mean at NC State? A Pride Center firing raises fears
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This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "NAACP appeals challenge to voter ID + Will SCOTUS gerrymandering case affect NC?."
