Thousands of North Carolina felons can now register and vote | National

The change stems from a lawsuit challenging a 1973 law that prevents people convicted of a felony from regaining their voting rights while on probation, parole or post-release supervision.

More than 56,000 people in North Carolina were denied the opportunity to register under the challenged law, according to evidence presented in a 2021 lawsuit.

North Carolina has more than 7.3 million registered voters, and statewide elections in the presidential race state are often closed affairs. So any voter turnout could matter this fall, when the ballots include U.S. Senate and state Supreme Court races.

Expanding voter registration “means you have the right to vote,” said Daryl Atkinson, a lead attorney for the civil rights groups and ex-offenders who sued the law in 2019, celebrating the changes at an event outside the state Legislature in Roles. “Imagine if 56 thousand had something to say. But they will have something to say in November.”

But the judges did not touch the decision of the appeals court which prevented registration applications from felons who had not served time in jail or prison until Tuesday. Therefore, those applicants – until and unless the Supreme Court overturns the trial court’s ruling – will be able to vote starting in the November general election.

The Rev. William Barber of Goldsboro, co-chairman of the national Poor People’s Campaign, also spoke at Wednesday’s event, which was attended by about 100 people. A coalition of groups is organizing a summer “Unlock Our Freedom to Vote” tour that will include voter and registration information and other outreach activities for potential voters.