The two-year journey from the primaries to the polls is almost over – but not until you cast your vote! Follow along with this handy guide to make sure you have what it takes to make your voice heard.

For 223 years, the highest office in the land has been passed from one man to another without bloodshed or widespread violence. This year the same will likely occur regardless of the sex of the victor.

A request by Gov. Pat McCrory to reinstate North Carolina’s 2013 voter identification requirement and shortened early voting period was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court last week.

North Carolinians can debate whether a few of the controversial laws enacted by the Republican-led North Carolina General Assembly and supported by Gov. Pat McCrory are unconstitutional or not, but it seems the courts are leaning toward striking them down. 

More importantly, perhaps, are that the legal challenges keep landing Democratic gubernatorial candidate and state Attorney General Roy Cooper on the front pages of many of the state’s newspapers. Indeed, the controversy over these laws may just help Cooper unseat McCrory from the governor’s office, which would be a positive step for North Carolina.

Ruling that North Carolina’s 2013 voter identification law purposely targets African-Americans with “almost surgical precision,” the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit struck down the measure last Friday, stating that there was evidence that “because of race, the legislature enacted one of the largest restrictions of the franchise in modern North Carolina history.”

Local election officials say the March 15 primary election ran fairly smoothly despite having to implement the new voter ID law for the first time.

New voter identification laws are in effect for the 2016 elections, meaning voters should be prepared to show a valid form of photo identification at the polls during the March 15 primary election.

In an unexpected turn of events, the North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation last Thursday that will allow people to cast a ballot in 2016 even if they don’t have an acceptable form of identification. 

By Katie Reeder • SMN Intern 

Some opponents of North Carolina’s new voting law claim it negatively impacts college students because of provisions that cut the early voting period and do not allow students to use their campus photo identification cards as a valid form of identification to vote. Students at Western Carolina University were asked their thoughts on the new law.

By Katie Reeder • SMN Intern 

It may be too late to change North Carolina’s new voting laws, but it’s not too late to have a say in how those laws are going to be implemented.

SEE ALSO:
• Be prepared at the polls
• WCU students react to NC voting law changes

Even though members of local NAACP chapters are not happy with North Carolina’s new voting laws pushed through by a Republican-led General Assembly in 2013, they now want to focus on how those laws may be implemented.