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A man votes in November in Durham, N.C. The U.S. Supreme Court had refused to reinstate strict voter restrictions in time for Election Day. Sara D. Davis/Getty Images hide caption

A man votes in November in Durham, N.C. The U.S. Supreme Court had refused to reinstate strict voter restrictions in time for Election Day.

The U.S. Supreme Court has once again declined to reinstate North Carolina's strict voter ID law, which was struck down last year after a court ruled it was intentionally designed to stop African-Americans from voting.

The nation's highest court refused to consider an appeal by North Carolina Republicans, NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

"Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the court's refusal to consider an appeal did not signify an opinion on the merits of the case," Fessler says.

It's not the first time the Supreme Court has considered an appeal over the voter ID law, which was one of the country's strictest. It was put in place after the Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, clearing the way for states with a history of discrimination to craft new voting laws without federal oversight.

Michael Tomsic of member station WFAE wrote last fall about the lengthy battle over North Carolina's law, which was ostensibly meant to combat voter fraud:

"That fight began in 2013, when the state made cuts to early voting, created a photo ID requirement and eliminated same-day registration, out-of-precinct voting and preregistration of high school students.

"More than half of all voters there use early voting, and African-Americans do so at higher rates than whites. African-Americans also tend to overwhelmingly vote for Democrats."

Those provisions of the law were struck down in July 2016 by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In its ruling, the appeals court said the law was intentionally designed to discriminate against black people. North Carolina legislators had requested data on voting patterns by race and, with that data in hand, drafted a law that would "target African-Americans with almost surgical precision," the court said.

The state appealed to the Supreme Court, which refused to reinstate the law in time for elections.

The legal drama continued, as David Boraks of WFAE reports:

"The state and then-Gov. Pat McCrory appealed the 4th Circuit decision to the Supreme Court. As the Supreme Court discussed whether to hear the case, the state under a new Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, asked to withdraw the appeal."

That is the appeal the high court will not be hearing, it announced Monday.

Voting rights have been making headlines again this month, after President Trump announced the creation of a presidential commission to investigate voter fraud.

"Numerous independent investigations have concluded that voter fraud exists but is extremely limited in scope," Fessler reported last week.

Critics said the commission would justify voter suppression efforts, while state election officials are worried it could "divert attention from other serious concerns, such as aging equipment and the threat of hacking," she wrote.

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Supreme Court Declines Republican Bid To Revive North Carolina Voter ID Law - NPR

Rep. Mo BrooksMo BrooksRepublican rep roils Alabama Senate race GOP Rep. Brooks enters Alabama Senate race Rep. Mo Brooks expected to announce Senate run: report MOREs (R-Ala.) Monday announcement that hell enter Alabamas Senate special election sets up a high-profile clash between the conservative congressman and the Republican establishment.

The Senate GOP leadership has already lined up behind Sen. Luther Strange, who was appointed to the seat in February to replace Attorney General Jeff SessionsJeff SessionsSenate battle lines harden in FBI fight Lobbying war rages over Turkish exile Pelosi: Trump actions on Comey dismissal really weird MORE. But Brookss candidacy shows that leadership hasnt cleared the field of potential primary challengers, meaning that Strange might not face an easy path to reelection.

Warning about a country put at risk by those who want to allow noncitizens to vote, gun control advocates and those who seek to destroy our values and faith in God, Brooks made clear who should shoulder the blame.

The solutions of Americas challenges are there the roadblock to these solutions is the United States Senate, Brooks said in an apparent attempt to tar Strange as a Washington insider just months into his tenure.

Brooks was active in Alabama politics for decades before winning his House seat in the 2010 Tea Party wave. But while hes cruised to reelection in subsequent primaries, hes raised eyebrows among more moderate Republicans by making a slew of controversial comments, including repeated accusations that Democrats have sponsored a war on whites.

Brooks has $1.2 million in his campaign account, according to a March filing, compared with Stranges $763,600.

Strange already faces a rocky path in the August primary, thanks in part to questions about his appointment to the seat by ex-Gov. Robert Bentley (R) and his own involvement in a convoluted investigation of the governor.

As Alabamas attorney general, Strange asked the state House Judiciary Committee to pause an investigation into impeaching Bentley for misusing campaign funds and for an alleged affair with an aide, instead allowing his own office to continue related work on the case.

But when restless state lawmakers pressed Strange on when he would take action on Bentley, the attorney general later clarified that he could not confirm or deny a probe into the embattled governor. Bentley eventually appointed Strange to Sessionss seat, later resigning the governorship in April over his affair.

The optics of Stranges appointment will likely be a prime line of attack for his Senate opponents.

[Stranges opponents] can make the case: Weve earned where we are. Luther was granted this in a suspicious bargain with a now-disgraced governor, said Bill Britt, the editor of the Alabama Political Reporter.

I think as long as someones got money to keep making that pitch, Luthers toast.

Still, the GOP establishment has made it clear that Strange will have the partys full backing. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) says that it will treat him as an incumbent, a move that both gives Strange powerful allies and could hinder his challengers campaigns.

The NRSC doesnt work with campaign vendors who help primary challenges to incumbent senators, so anyone siding with Brooks could get put on that blacklist.

Last week, the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), a super PAC with ties to Majority Leader Mitch McConnellMitch McConnellTrump triggers battle over energy nominees Senate battle lines harden in FBI fight Pelosi: Trump actions on Comey dismissal really weird MORE (R-Ky.), announced a $2.6 million TV ad buy to boost Stranges bid.

The SLF pushed back on Brooks just hours after his announcement with a statement charging that he, not Strange, is the real Beltway politician.

While Luther Strange was cleaning up the corruption in Montgomery, Mo Brooks was living the life of a Washington insider, opposing Donald TrumpDonald TrumpState Dept. surprised by Tillerson defending Trump: report GOP strategist: GOP would have 'rightly' tried to impeach Clinton for classified disclosure Pelosi: 'What do the Russians have on Donald Trump?' MORE and failing to get a single bill signed into law in four terms in the House, said SLF spokesman Chris Pack.

Its clear Mo Brooks is more interested in advancing his own career than he is with delivering for Alabama.

Its too early to tell if outside groups or vendors will defy that pledge the field is still shaking out ahead of Wednesdays filing deadline. A spokesman for the conservative Club for Growth, a group that Brooks cited in his announcement for giving him high marks, said only that it is watching the race.

Along with his penchant for controversial comments, Brooks hasnt always sided with House GOP leadership two factors that make him an unappealing senator in the eyes of leadership.

Brooks refused to vote for the first iteration of House leaderships healthcare bill, eventually backing the revised bill after the conservative House Freedom Caucus extracted more concessions. During the healthcare debate, Brooks took flak for saying that that people who lead good lives shouldnt have to pay as much for healthcare.

And when Republicans began to sour on then-Speaker John BoehnerJohn BoehnerRepublican rep roils Alabama Senate race Feehery: Mend it, dont end it Press: Ryans gift to Dems MORE (R-Ohio) in 2014, Brooks vocally encouraged others to challenge BoehnerJohn BoehnerRepublican rep roils Alabama Senate race Feehery: Mend it, dont end it Press: Ryans gift to Dems MORE.

While the GOP establishment in Washington has rallied behind Strange, Brooks and some other Alabama Republicans have slammed Stranges D.C. allies.

Brooks has denounced Washington Republicans as swamp critters who want to strong-arm Alabama voters into reelecting Strange.

State Rep. Ed Henry, a Republican Senate hopeful, and state Senate President Pro Tempore Del Marsh, who is eyeing a bid, have made similar attacks.

All I would ask is that they let Alabama choose its senator, Marsh said earlier this month, according to The Montgomery Advertiser.

I dont consider Gov. Bentleys hand-chosen senator to be the incumbent. I think the people will choose that in an election cycle.

But Strange supporters dont see it that way.

Folks who are upset that they werent appointed think that he shouldnt be treated as an incumbent, but the fact is he is, and hes an absolutely critical piece of the puzzle in terms of delivering on a Trump agenda, a Senate Republican campaign operative told The Hill.

I think everyones doing the right thing by backing Luther Strange.

Despite pressure from the Senate Republican leadership, though, the GOP field continues to grow. Along with Brooks and Henry, other declared candidates include suspended Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore, Christian Coalition of Alabama President Randy Brinson and businessman Dom Gentile.

And Marsh would be considered a high-profile contender should he decide to run.

Moore was suspended in September for encouraging lower courts to ignore the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Despite that setback, Alabama observers say he has a base that will show up to the polls.

Prior to Brookss official entry, a recent poll found Moore with a dominant lead, followed by Strange in second and Brooks in third. But Moore and Brooks could split their shared conservative base.

[Brooks is] a conservative choice that doesnt have the baggage that Roy Moore does, Britt said. Hes a firebrand. He likes to shake it up. Hes the kind of politician we like down here.

With so many candidates in the race, a runoff tentatively set for Sept. 26 is a real possibility. Along with Strange, Moore, Brooks or Marsh are considered the most likely contenders for a possible runoff.

As the field continues to take shape ahead of the May 17 filing deadline, Alabamians are gearing up for their first contested Senate election since 1996.

Its all focused right now on the 17th to know whos in and not, Britt said. But I think its going to be a real battle.

Updated at 8:45 p.m.

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Republican rep roils Alabama Senate race - The Hill

One of the most powerful House RepublicansRodney Frelinghuysen (NJ), the new chair of the House Appropriations Committeegot a constituent in trouble by writing a letter to her employer that called out her progressive activism.

The employeeSaily Avelenda of West Caldwell, whos active in the progressive NJ 11th for Change groupended up resigning from her job as senior vice president and assistant general counsel at Lakeland Bank, according to a report from WNYC.

Frelinghuysens letter, sent on campaign letterhead to bank board member and Frelinghuysen donor Joseph ODowd, appears to be correspondence he sent to other contributors as well.

[L]ets be clear that there are organized forcesboth national and localwho are already hard at work to put a stop to the agenda of limited government, economic growth and stronger national security, Frelinghuysens letter reads. As you may have seen in the front page of the New York Times, the Democrat political organizations, the DCCC run by Nancy Pelosi, has targeted my district for Democrat takeover. Democrats have chosen to targets districts like ours because we sit in prime media markets and their protesters are highly organized.

But at the bottom, in blue pen, Frelinghuysen wrote by hand: P.S. One of the ringleaders works in your bank!

Attached to the letter was a news clip featuring a quote from Avelenda. A Google search indicates she was quoted in a February WNYC report headlined, New Jersey Citizens Group Creates a Super PAC. Avelenda is identified as being with NJ 11th for Change in the story, and is quoted as saying, Part of what our goal is is to educate, to ensure they are aware of the individual that sits in that seat today So that when they go make a choice they have all the information they need to make a choice.

Avelendas boss confronted her about Frelinghuysens letter. She told WNYC that she had to write a statement to my CEO, and at my level as an assistant general counsel and a senior vice president, at this employer it was not something that I expected I thought my Congressman put them in a situation, and put me in a really bad situation as the constituent, and used his name, used his position and used his stationery to try to punish me.

Avelenda wasnt fired, but she told WNYC that Frelinghuysens letter and the blowback it created contributed to her decision to resign.

In a statement published Monday morning on NJ 11th for Changes Facebook page, the groups writes, We are outraged and alarmed by Representative Frelinghuysens intimidating action against an ordinary constituent.

It continues:

Frelinghuysens campaign sent WNYC a statement saying that the Congressman wrote a brief and innocuous note at the bottom of a personal letter in regard to information that had been reported in the media. He was in no way involved in any of the banks business and is unaware of any of the particulars about this employees status with the bank.

Lakeland Bank isnt commenting, according to WNYC.

Frelinghuysen, who was first elected in 1995, has voted in lockstep with President Trump and hasnt held a town hall since 2013. Though he won reelection in his suburban New York City district by 19 points last year, hes become a target for Democrats this cycle.

In February, the Bergen County Record reported that Frelinghuysen hauled in a personal record of more than $500,000 in the first quarter of this year.

The effort comes as Democrats in Washington have already made Frelinghuysen the target of automated phone calls, voters in his district have held regular protests at his office and a group ran a bus trip to Washington to pressure him to oppose President Donald Trumps policies and hold a public town hall meeting, the Record reports. New data that used past election results to score the partisan leanings of congressional districts show that Frelinghuysens 11th District, which covers parts of Essex, Morris, Passaic and Sussex counties, and Rep. Leonard Lances 7th District are about as competitive as the 5th District, where Democrat Josh Gottheimer defeated seven-term Republican Rep. Scott Garrett in November.

Frelinghuysens decision to call out a constituent for her progressive political activism comes while Trump and other House Republicans repeatedly complain, without evidence, about paid protesters who are publicly resisting their agenda.

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House Republican writes letter to constituent's employer complaining about her progressive activism - ThinkProgress

Its somewhat amazing the length Republican lawmakers seem to be willing to go to undo touching Gov. Sam Brownbacks signature income tax cut that has affected the states ability to do its work.

While it seems that the source of the states budget problems is easy to see, and the solution seemingly would be to simply undo the source of injury, some lawmakers instead want to keep shifting the burden to the states sales tax as a way to preserve a misguided philosophy.

This week, the Kansas House approved a bill that would add the states sales tax to services like towing, storage, security, pet boarding and some cleaning services, in the hope of raising about $110 million over two years.

The amount raised wont come close to solving the states budget issues, yet leaves in place the income tax cuts that are so near and dear to Brownbacks heart. But make no mistake about it: This group of lawmakers has no problem with raising taxes; they just want to make sure its the right taxes that are raised.

If approved by the Senate, this would be the third round of sales tax increases that have been put in place as a way to save the governors income tax vision. In Hutchinson, the sales tax hovers near 10 percent a tax that includes groceries and necessities so that a handful of people across the state can avoid paying income taxes altogether.

As the Legislature nears the end of its session, compromises will be made to wrap up the states business and to pass a plan to fund education and set the states budget. Yet its remarkable how much effort some factions will put into preserving a tax cut that hasnt worked as promised even to the point of raising taxes elsewhere to keep a bad idea alive that has never even come close to spreading sunshine across Kansas.

Jason Probst, for The Hutchinson News editorial board

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Republican lawmakers again look to boost sales tax revenue - Hutchinson News

WASHINGTON The health care plan barely approved by Republicans in the House faces even more difficult challenges in the GOP majority Senate, based on interviews with several senators.

The contentious issues are similar: the cost of the plan, how to pay for it, coverage of pre-existing medical conditions for the sick and disabled, subsidies to help people who cant afford market rate premiums, co-payments and deductibles.

Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma said he remains hopeful the Senate can fashion legislation that will overcome divisions among his GOP colleagues and also appeal to the more conservative House.

I think well get there, said Lankford, a member of the influential Senate Appropriation Committee. We have to.

But Lankford said the road ahead faces tough going because the House plan, embraced by President Donald Trump, wont provide sufficient subsidies for low-income people to afford insurance.

It would no longer consider age or income in determining the amount of individual subsidies, a change the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates would mean millions of poor and older Americans not yet eligible for Medicare lose their insurance.

Lankford, a fiscal conservative, said in a statement after a brief interview he wants to make sure no individual ends up in worse shape.

Reflecting the philosophical divide among Republicans, senators such as Rand Paul of Kentucky want to strictly limit the governments involvement in health care, and are opposed to any subsidies.

Even though the House plan lowers the subsidies, Paul said in an interview on Fox News hes not that interested in subsidizing the profits of insurance companies. They make a lot of money.

Paul has a plan to allow individuals to group together like company employees to negotiate with insurers to get the best price and coverage -- a strategy he said will lower premiums and protect people with pre-existing conditions without government mandates.

The debate over government subsidies was also a sticky issue last month for House Republicans before they came together to narrowly approve a compromise.

House Speaker Paul Ryan canceled the initial vote on the GOP plan over lack of enough support from conservative and moderate lawmakers. Changes were made and the revised bill, with a push from Trump, received 217-213 approval last week. Twenty Republicans dissented.

Senate Republicans, who hold a slim two-vote majority, can only afford to two defections in order to pass a health care plan.

That means finding common ground not only subsidies but also protecting coverage of pre-existing conditions and Obamacares essential health benefits such as maternity, mental health and prescription drugs.

The House plan repeals Obamacare but continues the laws ban on insurers denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. But the concern is it also allows states to let insurers charge people with medical issues higher rates if they have a lapse in coverage -- a hitch health advocates say penalizes lower-income individuals who interrupt their coverage due to cost or other reasons.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., said in an interview shes concerned the House plan isnt clear enough in protecting people with medical conditions. Shes also troubled that the House bill rolls back Medicaid assistance over time in the states that chose to expand it under Obamacare.

Capito said 180,000 West Virginians get insurance through expanded Medicaid.

A lot of them have addiction issues and drug abuse issues, she said. If (the program) goes away, there will be tragic consequences -- such as overdose deaths that occur more frequently on a per capita basis in West Virginia than any other state.

The federal government now picks up nearly all of the cost for the 31 states that expanded Medicaid to cover low-income people who make too much to qualify for the traditional program.

Marie Gordon, spokeswoman for Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said hes looking at the other side of the Medicaid coin states like Georgia that did not expand Medicaid having to pay for states that did. She also said, however, that Isakson would not be supportive of legislation that fails to ensure affordable coverage for those with pre-existing conditions.

Sen. Pauls plan would end support for the Medicaid expansion.In a phone call with reporters this week, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said hes concerned about preserving traditional Medicaid. A spokeswoman for Grassley said later he hasnt come to a position on expanded Medicaid.

The House plan continues to fund Medicaid expansion for individuals already in the program, but beginning in 2020, the states would get less for new recipients. Capito said her state faces a $500 million budget deficit this year and is in no shape to make up the difference.

In March, she and three other Republican senators from Medicaid expansion states, including Ohios Rob Portman, wrote Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announcing they wont support a plan that doesnt include stable funding for Medicaid expansion.

A group of 13 ranking Senate Republicans, including McConnell, has been appointed by the majority leader to work on Medicaid and other conflict issues. It has been criticized for no women members, though Capito met with the group this week.

Ultimately, said Grassley, Republicans have no choice but to come together on a health care legislation because theyve promised for years to repeal Obamacare. We have to deliver, he said or risk voters losing confidence in their government.

More importantly, he added, is the potential loss of insurance companies offering subsidized policies Iowa because the present health system is failing.

Kery Murakami covers Washington for The Eagle-Tribune and its sister newspapers and websites.

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Republican senators search for deal on health care - Eagle-Tribune