- By Tim Tsujii
- Posted Wednesday, May 17, 2023
10 Facts About NC's Photo ID Requirement for Voting
RALEIGH, NC – The following are 10 facts about North Carolina’s photo ID
requirement for voting:
- Voters will be asked to show photo ID when voting in North Carolina,
starting with the 2023 municipal elections. Those elections occur in
September, October, and November, depending on the town or city. (Find
your local election details at ncsbe.gov/voting/upcoming-election.)
- Most voters will simply show their NC driver’s license, but many other
types of photo ID will be accepted. See the list of acceptable IDs at
ncsbe.gov/voter-id.
- Voters without ID can get a “No Fee ID Card” from the NCDMV. Soon,
voters will also be able to get a free ID from their county board of
elections.
- The State Board is developing a process for approving student and public
employee IDs for voting. Lists will be added to the Voter ID website as
soon as IDs are approved.
- When a voter checks in to 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.
- 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 county canvass. (For municipal elections in September and
October, this deadline is the Monday following Election Day. For all other
elections, the deadline is the second Thursday following Election Day.)
- Permitted 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, family responsibilities,
etc.); 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 special
absentee voting procedures that federal law makes available for such
voters.
- For more information, see ncsbe.gov/voter-ID and “FAQ: Voter ID". These
web pages will be updated frequently with the latest information.