A North Carolina district court has begun hearing a challenge to North Carolina’s voter ID laws, which are among the strictest in the nation. The NAACP and the Justice Department are arguing North Carolina’s 2013 laws violate the Voting Rights Act and discriminate against people of color by requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls. The lawyers say the law was implemented to curb the increasing political power of voters of color in North Carolina. The case could have legal ramifications for voting rights laws across the country, headed into the 2016 presidential race.