WASHINGTON—A divided Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an emergency appeal by North Carolina seeking to revive stricter state voting rules, which reduced the number of days for early voting and required photo identification at the polls.

The high court, in a brief written order, declined to stay an appeals court ruling from July that struck down North Carolina’s Republican-backed voting rules. The appeals court found state lawmakers enacted the rules with the intent to discriminate against black voters.

North Carolina’s bid to restore the rules for Election Day split the short-handed Supreme Court along ideological lines, with four liberal justices rejecting the request and four conservative justices supporting the state. North Carolina needed the votes of five justices to win a stay.

The even split is the latest impact of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia’s February death and a political impasse over replacing him.

The Supreme Court’s action wasn’t a ruling on the merits but only about what voting rules should apply while North Carolina is contesting the appeals court ruling.