ASHEBORO N.C. — The State Board of Elections has approved almost a hundred student and employee ID cards for use in the upcoming 2023 municipal and 2024 primary and general elections in North Carolina.
With the passage of Voter ID laws in North Carolina, voters will be asked to show photo ID when voting in state starting with the municipal elections this fall.
While most voters will simply show their driver’s license, for those who don’t have a driver’s license there are many other acceptable photo IDs, and that list is growing with the approval of ninety-nine student and employee IDs.
These newly approved IDs, which can be used to confirm a person’s identity when they check in to vote, include student IDs for all UNC system schools, as well as other public and private colleges and universities. They also include employee IDs for many educational institutions, as well as some county governments and charter schools.
LINK: See the full list of IDs approved on July 17, 2023
“We are grateful to all institutions that applied to have their identification cards approved for voters for the 2023 municipal elections,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections in a press release. “This gives voters additional options when casting their ballot.”
The newly approved IDs had to undergo a review process at the state level to ensure that the IDs meet the standards to be approved under state law and will remain valid for use as a voter’s photo ID through December 31st, 2024.
The IDs of six institutions that sought approval of their student or employee identification were not approved for use in the 2023 municipal elections because they lack expiration dates, which are required by law for approval. Those institutions are able to re-apply in the future after correcting the issue.
You can see the full list of approved IDs on the State Board’s website on the Voter ID page.
All voters will be allowed to vote with or without an ID. If an in-person voter does not provide an acceptable ID, the voter may fill out a Photo ID Exception Form and vote a provisional ballot, or vote a provisional ballot and bring an acceptable ID to the county board of elections office by the day before the
county canvass.
Voters who vote by mail will be asked to include a photocopy of an ID with their ballot or complete a Photo ID Exception Form for Absentee Voting. The photocopy will be mailed in a special envelope to protect the voter’s personal information on their ID.
Those who don’t have an ID, or don’t have an approved ID can get one free from the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles, and soon, voters will also be able to get a free ID card from their county board of elections.