RALEIGH -- A battle has been in federal court over North Carolina's new Republican-backed voting laws. On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder denied a motion seeking to allow the old rules to remain in place for November's election.

A trial challenging the voting changes is scheduled for court next year, and a coalition of groups - including the NAACP - filed suit over the new laws that were approved in 2013. The law suit alleges the alterations will suppress turnout at the polls among groups that typically support Democratic candidates, including minorities, the elderly, and college students.

A state-submitted motion seeking to have the case dismissed was also denied by Schroeder, paving the way for the trial to being in 2015.