Alan Blinder for the NYT:

The protracted battle over North Carolina’s voting rules moved to a federal appeals court on Tuesday, one day after a judge upheld the Republican-backed overhaul and increased the likelihood that the changes would be in effect for this year’s presidential election.

Opponents of the changes here, which include the introduction of a voter identification requirement and a shortening of the state’s early voting period, submitted formal notices of appeals. That shifts the litigation to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Lawyers said they would ask the Fourth Circuit, which sits in Richmond, Va., to expedite its consideration of the matter.