WINSTON-SALEM (AP) — North Carolina’s chapter of the NAACP will be in federal court as it tries to stop local election boards from purging voter rolls through a process that the group says disproportionately targets blacks.

The emergency hearing on the lawsuit will be Wednesday in Winston-Salem.

Voters are being removed because of challenges filed by individuals, which the NAACP says is illegal under federal law less than 90 days before an election. However, state officials say the process is legal under state law.

Early voting has already begun in North Carolina, a critical swing state that the NAACP has taken to court previously over issues such as voter identification.

The group’s lawsuit zeroes in on Cumberland, Moore and Beaufort counties, where individuals have challenged thousands of voters’ names.