Voters must show photo ID to vote this fall
May 19—LENOIR — For the upcoming municipal elections, in November, 2023, voters in Caldwell County and across North Carolina will be required by law to present a photo identification in order to cast a ballot.
Statewide, voters in 2018 approved a measure to require photo identification (ID). The North Carolina Supreme Court upheld rulings last month, restating that this requirement is constitutional and will therefore be in effect in November.
Having photo voter identification requirements has been debated for years.
The North Carolina Board of Elections has recently published a "fact sheet" to clarify for the public, exactly what the State Supreme Court ruling means regarding photo voter ID.
Most voters will simply show their NC driver's license, but other types of photo ID will be accepted. These include driver's license from other states (if the voter is properly registered to vote in NC), U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport card, and college and university ID approved by the State Board of Elections.
Voters without ID can get a "no fee ID card" from the NC Department of Motor Vehicles. Soon, according to the State Board of Elections, voters will also be able to get a free ID from the County Board of Elections.
The State Board of Elections is now developing a process for approving student and public employee ID cards for voting.
When a voter checks into vote at a polling place, they will be asked to show an acceptable photo ID. Election workers check to see if the picture on the ID reasonably resembles the voter. The address on the photo ID does not have to match the voter registration records.
Importantly, all voters will be allowed to vote with or without a photo ID. If the voter does not show an acceptable ID, the voter may vote with an ID Exception Form and a provisional ballot, or, vote with a provisional ballot and return to their county board of elections office with their photo ID by the day before the official county "canvass," usually by the Monday following Election Day.
Acceptable exceptions to the photo ID requirement include the following: The voter has a reasonable impediment to showing photo ID (lack of transportation, lost or stolen ID, disability or illness); the voter has a religious objection to being photographed; or the voter was a victim of a natural disaster within 100 days of Election Day.
When a registered voter cannot produce a photo ID, the county board of elections must count that ballot if the voter properly completes the ID Exception Form or brings an acceptable ID to their county board of elections before the county canvass.
Voters who vote by mail will be asked to include a photocopy of an acceptable ID inside the photo ID envelope that comes with their ballot. If they are unable to include a photocopy of their ID, they may complete an ID Exception Form with the absentee ballot return envelope.
Photo ID is not required for military or overseas voters who vote using the special voting procedures that federal makes available for such voters.
For additional information, visit the Caldwell County Board of Elections online: www.caldwellcountync.gov., or the North Carolina Board of Elections, www.ncsbe.gov.
