North Carolina has received a lot of attention for its questionable political decisions lately. The state’s anti-LGBT bathroom law, which cost the state plenty of business, is now in federal court with opponents asking a judge to order it unenforceable while its constitutionality is determined. And last week, a federal appeals court struck down the state’s voting law, which required citizens to present photo ID at the polls. The court said that such a provision carried “racially discriminatory intent.” Now, Governor Pat McCrory is vowing to appeal the ruling, even though the attorney general refuses to do so.
According to The News & Observer, McCrory called a press conference where he detailed this disagreement that he and Attorney General Roy Cooper have had. He said that Cooper’s office was shirking its duty by not appealing the ruling.
“We’re very disappointed to hear that again his office is not willing to do his job. In fact, I question whether he should even accept a paycheck from the state of North Carolina anymore because he continues to not do his job, as his oath of office requires him to do.”
When the ruling came out, McCrory had characterized it as “three Democratic judges are undermining the integrity of our elections while also maligning our state,” as the Washington Post reported. Attorney General Cooper is indeed a Democrat who is running against him for the governor seat, and a Republican-controlled legislature had instituted the voter ID law in 2012.
The News & Observer also reports that Cooper spoke to reporters, detailing that his office was working on making voting easier in North Carolina, by expanding early-voter hours and reinstating same-day registration. He said that he agreed with the voter ID ruling:
“The bottom line is people will have more opportunities to register and vote, which was the origin of the laws that were passed in the first place — the ones that, it looks like now, were illegally overturned by the governor and the General Assembly.”
So there you have it, two politicians running for governor of North Carolina, on completely opposite sides of this issue. This would not only affect voting in North Carolina in general, but quite possibly the election they’re participating in come November. It’s fascinating how this state has become a testing ground for issues of such national importance. And that’s not all — Cooper opposes McCrory’s stance on the controversial LGBT bathroom law as well.
(via The News & Observer)