North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) plans to appeal a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that blocked parts of North Carolina’s much-criticized voter ID law.
The circuit court suspended parts of the law that cut same-day registration for early voting and voided ballots that were cast on Nov. 4 outside of the precinct of the person who cast the ballot. It still left major parts of the law, such as the part that eliminated early voting over a seven-day period.
“I am pleased that the major parts of this popular and common sense bill were intact and apply to the upcoming election,” McCrory (pictured) said, according to the Raleigh News and Observer. “I have instructed our attorneys to appeal to the Supreme Court so that the two provisions rejected today can apply in the future and protect the integrity of our elections.”
Attorney General Roy Cooper’s office told TPM that he would appeal the ruling on behalf of McCrory’s administration.
This actually puts Cooper in something of an awkward position. Cooper who is strongly believed to be planning to run governor in 2016 and has quarreled with McCrory about voter ID laws publicly. In October 2013, TPM reported that McCrory warned that Cooper needed to not advertise his opposition to voter identification laws.
“Regarding the attorney general, my only comment regarding this is he can have his personal opinion but as a lawyer he should not publicize your personal opinion if you’re going to be defending the people who are promoting this commonsense law,” McCrory said during an appearance at the Heritage Foundation. Those comments came in response to Cooper expressing disagreement with the law.
More recently, Cooper said that the 2016 election would be a pivotal moment for North Carolina.
“That’s when we take the state back from the extremists,” Cooper said.
