NAACP says Tillis won in N.C. because of voter laws

NAACP says Tillis won in N.C. because of voter laws
(Image credit: Davis Turner/Getty Images)

The president of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP has requested a meeting with Republican state House Speaker Thom Tillis to discuss his "ultra-conservative" policies. He also wondered whether voter suppression contributed to Tillis' narrow 49-47 percent win over Democrat Kay Hagan.

Wral.com reports that Rev. William Barber said Tillis' win is "not a validation of what [Tillis] and the legislature and the governor and the extremists have done. Actually, it's a kind of repudiation." Barber has been championing the "Forward Together" movement, which opposes legislation trumpeted by Republican law.

Barber also alleges that there were widespread reports of voting problems, including a shortened early-voting period and the elimination of same-day registration. The State Board of Elections, however, said the election "ran rather smoothly." --Teresa Mull

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Editor's note: This article originally misrepresented the North Carolina NAACP's requests of Tillis. It has since been corrected. We regret the error.

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Teresa Mull