From Democracy N.C.
Due to an NC Supreme Court ruling, a photo ID will now be required to vote in North Carolina beginning with this year’s municipal elections.
The NC State Board of Elections (NCSBE) is inviting the public to comment on two temporary rules to implement the photo ID requirement for both in-person and absentee voting. These rules will help ensure voter ID is applied identically at all 100 county boards of elections and 3,000+ polling locations across North Carolina.
A link to the comments portal is below. The comment period ends June 23.
What do the rules mean? And how will they affect voters?
THE RULE: Verification of Photo Identification During In-Person Voting
This proposed rule describes how election officials determine whether the photo on your ID resembles voters and whether the name is the same as or substantially equivalent to the name on a registration record. This rule could affect a variety of voters, such as transgender voters who have changed their appearance or name to align with their gender; voters who wear hijabs, burqas, or other religious head and facial coverings; and voters with medical conditions that change an individual’s appearance, among others.
THE RULE: Photo Identification for Absentee-By-Mail Ballots
This proposed rule provides details about the requirement for absentee-by-mail voters to provide a copy of an acceptable photo ID with their ballot return envelope, or to complete a photo ID exception form.
This period is intended to collect comments about proposed rules regarding photo ID – unfortunately, we cannot undo the photo ID law through this process. However, we CAN have input into how the rules are implemented and how best to support voters across the state. This is also an opportunity to get your comment in the public record – if you have experienced the impact of the harmful voter ID law in past elections or will be directly affected by the law, share that as part of your comment.
To submit comments via the NCSBE portal, please use this link:
https://www.ncsbe.gov/about-elections/legal-resources/rulemaking/public-comment-portal-photo-id-rules
Note: The N.C. Board of Elections has created a two-page, downloadable info sheet about Voter I.D. requirements. To access it, please use this link:
https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/voter-id