NEWS FROM THE PROVOST

The GLBT Center will host UNC Boyd Tinsley Distinguished Professor of Law Gene Nichol on Tuesday, October 25, 2016 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. in Park Shops 210 as a part of its 2016 GLBT History Month programming. This lecture is open to students, staff, faculty and community members.

Nichol is widely respected for his research focusing on Civil Rights, constitutional law, federal court procedures and jurisdictions and poverty law services. His accolades include authoring Seeing the Invisible: Putting a Face on Poverty in North Carolina, publishing for prestigious law reviews and serving as an op-ed writer for the Raleigh News & Observer.

Nichol will give a lecture entitled, “Creating Institutional Barriers to Access: The NC Voter ID Law,” which will address implications of voter ID laws, their intent and how they impact who gets to vote in elections. In July of 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit unanimously overturned North Carolina’s Voter ID Law. In their ruling, the panel of judges indicated that the law, “intentionally targeting a particular race’s access to the franchise because its members vote for a particular party, in a predictable manner, constitutes discriminatory purpose.” The panel of judges declared that the law violated the Constitution and the Voter’s Right Act, providing grounds for the law to be blocked. North Carolina’s Voter ID Law was among several being challenged by court over the last year.

Preston Keith is assistant director of the GLBT Center.