Opinion ID: 2738874
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Poll Observers and Challengers

Text: North Carolina law permits the chair of each political party in every county to “designate two observers to attend each voting place at each primary and election.” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-45(a). House Bill 589 allows the chair of each county party to “designate 10 additional at-large observers who are residents of that county who may attend any voting place in that county.” 2013 N.C. Sess. Law 381, § 11.1 (codified at N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-45(a)). “Not more than two observers from the same political party shall be permitted in the voting enclosure at any time, except that in addition one of the at-large observers from each party may also be in the voting enclosure.” Id. The list of at-large observers must be “provided by the county 19 director of elections to the chief judge [for each affected precinct].” Id. (codified at § 163-45(b)). In conjunction with the addition of at-large observers, the law now permits any registered voter in the county to challenge a ballot on Election Day. Id. § 20.2 (codified at N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-87)). And during early voting, any state resident may now challenge ballots. Id. § 20.1 (codified at N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-84)). E. County Boards of Elections Discretion to Keep the Polls Open Under North Carolina law, the polls on Election Day are to remain open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-166.01. Beginning in 2001, each county board of elections had the power to “direct that the polls remain open until 8:30 p.m.” in “extraordinary circumstances.” 2001 N.C. Sess. Laws 460, § 3 (codified at N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-166 (2002)). House Bill 589 eliminates the discretion of the county boards of elections by deleting the “extraordinary circumstances” clause. 2013 N.C. Sess. Law 381, § 33.1. The law now provides “If the polls are delayed in opening for more than 15 minutes, or are interrupted for more than 15 minutes after opening, the State Board of Elections may extend the closing time by an equal number of minutes. As authorized 20 by law, the State Board of Elections shall be available either in person or by teleconference on the day of election to approve any such extension.” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-166.01. F. Socioeconomic Disparities in North Carolina The district court found that Plaintiffs’ expert testimony “demonstrate[d] that black citizens of North Carolina currently lag behind whites in several key socioeconomic indicators, including education, employment, income, access to transportation, and residential stability.” McCrory, 997 F. Supp. 2d at 348. Plaintiffs presented “unchallenged statistics,” for example, that (1) as of 2011-12, 34% of African American North Carolinians live below the federal poverty level, compared to 13% of whites; (2) as of the fourth quarter of 2012, unemployment rates in North Carolina were 17.3% for African Americans and 6.7% for whites; (3) 15.7% of African American North Carolinians over age 24 lack a high school degree, as compared to 10.1% of whites; (4) 27% of poor African American North Carolinians do not have access to a vehicle, compared to 8.8% of poor whites; and (5) 75.1% of whites in North Carolina live in owned homes as compared to 49.8% of African Americans. Id. at 348 n.27. The district court accepted that “North Carolina’s history of official discrimination against blacks has 21 resulted in current socioeconomic disparities with whites.” Id. at 366.