Jerry Hartzell: Clear intent to hinder voting

Regarding the Aug. 19 letter “Why McCrory must appeal Fourth Circuit’s election reform decision”: Bob Stephens, general counsel to Gov. Pat McCrory, wrote: “North Carolina cannot allow the Fourth Circuit’s characterizations of our state to go unchallenged.” This is nonsense.

McCrory’s Supreme Court effort is a self-serving exercise on behalf of a group of politicians who feel an obligation to defend actions they have taken and who seek the political advantages associated with no Sunday voting, no voting sites at campuses, ID requirements.

Every voter should read the Fourth Circuit’s July 29 opinion. Its essence: “Intentionally targeting a particular race’s access to the franchise because its members vote for a particular party, in a predictable manner, constitutes discriminatory purpose.”

McCrory and the Republican legislative leaders engineered the voting cutbacks because “the recent success of Democratic candidates in North Carolina resulted from African-American voters overcoming historical barriers and making their voices heard to a degree unmatched in modern history.”

So when Stephens refers to the Fourth Circuit’s “characterizations of our state,” what he really is referring to is the court’s characterizations of evidence that showed venal, ham-handed political operatives working to reduce the voting power of African-American voters to secure Republican political advantage.

This story was originally published August 20, 2016 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Jerry Hartzell: Clear intent to hinder voting."