WUNC: “Republican leaders in the North Carolina General Assembly are asking the state’s full Court of Appeals to temporarily block a ruling allowing certain felony offenders to vote while they appeal the case.
The legal battle goes back to August 2021, when a judicial panel struck down a 1973 North Carolina law that bars felony offenders from voting while serving active sentences — including if they are on probation or parole.
The judges found the law disproportionately affected Black residents and originated from an era of white supremacy in the 19th century, the Associated Press reported.
The ruling opens the door for people convicted of felonies to register and vote once they are out of prison, or if they never received a prison sentence. That could affect roughly 56,000 people, according to court testimony.
After the ruling was filed, Republican state House Speaker Tim Moore and state Senate leader Phil Berger filed an appeal and asked for the ruling to be placed on hold while their appeal is heard.
In a split 2 -1 decision last week, a three-judge panel granted a partial win to Berger and Moore. The panel said the ruling could be kept on hold through the May and July primaries, but would be allowed to take effect for the November election.”