A state appellate court issued a ruling today that blocked North Carolina's photo ID law indefinitely, pending a full trial.

The three judges unanimously ruled that the photo ID laws “are likely to disproportionately impact African American voters to their detriment.”

In November 2018, 55% of North Carolina voters approved a constitutional amendment requiring people to show a photo ID when they vote. The General Assembly then quickly approved implementing language for the amendment at the end of that year.

Last year, a federal court blocked the use of photo ID for the March 3 primary.

North Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley criticized the ruling, saying the three-judge panel's decision invalidates “the votes of more than 2 million North Carolinians” who voted for the amendment. He said it ignores similar laws in more than 30 other states.

The state Board of Elections, meanwhile, sent postcards to voters recently reminding people that they don't need to show IDs to vote in the primary.

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