55,000 people with prior felony convictions can now vote in North Carolina. Here’s what that means for the midterms

For the first time, more than 55,000 North Carolinians with prior felony convictions will be able to cast a vote, regardless of parole or probation status. That’s because in 2019, along with some other partners, Forward Justice, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to advancing racial, social and economic justice in the south, helped file a lawsuit over a North Carolina law called N.C.G.S. 13-1.

Previously, under North Carolina law, those impacted by felony convictions could vote only after being granted a pardon or through the completion of probation, parole or other supervisory sentences and the payment of all outstanding court fines.

The lawsuit over the North Carolina law, CSI v. Moore, argued that it was created to disproportionately impact Black citizens and effectively tied the right to vote to the ability to pay. The law was originally passed in 1877, and “The original intent was there to suppress the political power of black people because it was shortly after the passage of the 15th Amendment, which gave black men the right to vote,” said Daryl Atkinson, the co-director of Forward Justice and the lead attorney in the case.

This April, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued a stay of a previous trial court ruling that the law was, in fact, unconstitutional, and that those not currently incarcerated would regain the right to vote.

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The legal fight is not over, however. Those impacted have gained the right to vote in the 2022 midterm elections, and all future elections, until the Supreme Court of North Carolina hears the case in 2023.

But, Atkinson says he believes that such limitations on voting rights have had a real impact on who has been elected to lead the state North Carolina is typically considered a swing state; the 2016 North Carolina gubernatorial election saw Democrat Roy Cooper defeat Republican challenger Pat McCrory by 10,277 votes. In 2020, Republican Paul Newby defeated Democrat Cheri Beasley to become chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court by just 401 votes out of more than 5.3 million cast.

In CSI v Moore, the state of North Carolina argued that since the original law provided a path to the restoration of voting rights — after all post-release sentences were completed and fines paid — that N.C.G.S. 13-1 did not in fact disenfranchise people.

But Forward Justice argued that the provision had a racist intent, and that by putting up financial barriers it did ultimately disenfranchise people, specifically people of color. “Today, African Americans represent 21 percent of the voting age population. They are 42 percent of the people who are disenfranchised,” Atkinson said. In some of North Carolina’s major metro areas, the disparity is even higher. In Mecklenburg County, where the city of Charlotte is located, Black citizens are seven times more likely to be disenfranchised than white citizens. In Wake County, which includes the capital city of Raleigh, they are six times more likely.

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The racial disparity in felony convictions and resulting disenfranchisement is not an accident, Atkinson said. “We know that the laws and policies that have been in place have not been racially neutral, Atkinson said, citing the longstanding sentencing disparity for crack versus powder cocaine.“These things are not by happenstance. This is a well-documented history, and North Carolina is not an exception to that history.”

The April stay left a tight window to get the word out to those who had been disenfranchised.

“Voter registration… is not an easy thing to do. Then when you’re talking to individuals that are directly impacted by the criminal justice system and they’re hurt,” said Jarvis Johnson, a campaign data and field manager for Forward Justice. “As gracious as the state is in letting individuals know that they’re not … able to vote. You know, it would be just as gracious if they would let those individuals know that they could vote.”

Atkinson argues that the state of North Carolina has not done enough to get information out about the registration process.. “We’re explaining [to] them the process that you do have to reregister because now you are removed from the roles and you had received this letter, and they’re confused about what they’re supposed to do next,” he said.

Ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, Atkinson said he believes that“ “Justice is on the ballot. Sheriffs, district attorneys, judges at all levels of our court, including the Supreme Court, state legislatures who make laws related to the criminal legal system. All of that is on the ballot.”