A federal appeals court has ruled to keep a GOP lawsuit challenging around 225,000 voter registrations in North Carolina in federal court, marking a setback for Republican efforts to tighten voter registration regulations. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit determined that the case should remain under federal jurisdiction due to significant questions surrounding federal election laws, including the Help America Vote Act and protections under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The ruling came after the North Carolina State Board of Elections argued that removing voters from rolls within 90 days of an election would violate federal law. Judge Nicole Berner emphasized that the plaintiffs' claims primarily raise federal statutory questions despite being framed in state constitutional terms. This decision prevents the GOP from compelling the state to remove voters or require them to submit provisional ballots, reaffirming the complexities surrounding voter registration processes in the state.