Gov. Cooper: Ruling voiding voter ID amendment has 'sound basis'

Gov. Roy Cooper says a trial judge's ruling striking down North Carolina's new constitutional amendment mandating photo identification to vote "has a sound basis" in the law but ultimately will be resolved by higher courts.

Cooper told reporters Tuesday that Wake County Superior Court Judge Bryan Collins wrote a "well-reasoned opinion" recently that voided a pair of amendments approved by voters in November.

Collins agreed with the state NAACP that two amendments had been put on the ballot last year by a General Assembly that had been "illegal constituted" because of racial bias in House and Senate districts.

Republican legislative leaders are appealing Collins' order and seeking to have its enforcement delayed. The ruling brings uncertainty to whether a December law implementing the voter ID amendment ultimately will stand.