A federal judge on Monday denied an attempt to block stricter standards for mail-in ballots in North Carolina, marking a blow to Democratic-affiliated efforts to reverse Republican-backed changes to the election process made earlier this year.

Last month, the North Carolina State Board of Elections approved several changes to voting that it said were aimed at making it harder for fraud to occur, a move that triggered a lawsuit from several groups that argued it could mean voters won’t have time to receive new ballots if errors are discovered just before deadlines, possibly disenfranchising voters.

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