The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit [official website] on Thursday denied [text, PDF] a motion by North Carolina officials to stay an earlier order striking down the state’s voter ID law. The law was overturned [JURIST report] last week after a finding of discriminatory intent. The state filed the motion to stay the order while it seeks an appeal to the US Supreme Court [official website]. The order denying the motion states that the law “compels the injunction” and that “recalling or staying the mandate now would only undermine the integrity and efficiency of the upcoming election.” The order also mentions that the state is able to comply with the order, and should do so by returning to prior voting methods from before the law was enacted.

Voting rights have been the subject of numerous legal challenges across the US, particularly in a presidential election year. Earlier this week a federal judge barred North Dakota [JURIST report] from enforcing its voter ID law. Last month, voter restrictions were overturned not only in North Carolina, but in Kansas and Wisconsin [JURIST reports]. In June a federal judge ruled that Ohio’s elimination of the state’s early in-person voting [JURIST report] was unconstitutional and in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. In May a federal judge ruled that Virginia’s voter ID law, which requires that voters have a valid form of ID either before voting or within three days after voting, is constitutional [JURIST report]. In February the Maryland Senate overrode a veto by Governor Larry Hogan to pass a bill that will allow felons to vote [JURIST report] before they complete parole or probation.