As Federal Voter-Law Trial Begins, NAACP Also Considers Greensboro Case

A lawsuit over what some have called the most restrictive voting law in the country will begin in a federal court in Winston-Salem Monday. Voter rights groups say the case could impact election laws across the country.

The Rev. William Barber II, the president of the state NAACP, calls it a “monster voter suppression law.” It would – for example - reduce early voting by a week and reject ballots cast if a voter is in the wrong precinct. At one point it included a provision for photo ID, but the legislature watered that down in anticipation of the trial.

The NAACP and other voter rights advocates are also marking the start of the trial with a march. James Taylor, a Winston-Salem city councilman, was one of several council members to host "teach-ins" last week on voter rights. As for the Monday march, he says it'll be a big crowd.

“I'm expecting for those who are in the federal court to know that we are watching, and that we will stand up and support our right to vote.”

North Carolina Republicans have argued that the law prevents voter fraud.

The trial is expected to last at least three weeks.

Barber also says the organization might sue to stop the implementation of a controversial law that restructures the city of Greensboro.

He says the law disenfranchises minority voters, and he criticized the state legislature for passing it.

"They're not doing by listening to the people. They're not having debates and listening to the people," he says. "They're bullying. It's straight-out racialized bullying that's going on in the General Assembly. And they know it's wrong, but they continue to do it, and that's why we have to end up in court."

Barber says it's too early to say if the NAACP would join Greensboro's lawsuit or file their own version.

The Greensboro City Council voted Wednesday to sue the state over the law. It reduces the power of the mayor and redistricts the council lines. The law also makes Greensboro the only municipality in the state that requires approval from the legislature to change its structure.