RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Hundreds of NAACP members from Southeastern states are meeting in Raleigh for a conference that ties civil rights to contemporary voting legislation.
The gathering includes a voting-rights rally on Saturday that will feature Benjamin Todd Jealous, the organization's national president.
The conference is focusing on proposed laws in North Carolina and other states that would change how elections are conducted. North Carolina's proposed legislation would eliminate same-day registration and Sunday voting, and cut the time for early-voting by one week.
Supporters say the bill would cut down on voter fraud.
North Carolina NAACP president the Rev. William Barber and leaders of other state chapters say the state-by-state changes reverse gains made by the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which outlaws discriminatory practices aimed at black voters.
