Early voting starts Thursday, and the election is the first time many North Carolinians will show photo identification to vote.
The photo ID requirement originates from a 2018 law passed by the Republican majority in the North Carolina General Assembly.
In state court, a panel of trial judges ruled that the ID requirement would be discriminatory against Black voters.
Opponents of the requirements said statistics showed Black voters were more likely to be disenfranchised because they were less likely to possess the required forms of ID.
The ruling against photo ID was upheld by the North Carolina Supreme Court when Democrats had a 4-3 majority.
Republicans took control of the court in 2022 and in an unusual move, the Court agreed to a rehearing of the case in 2022.
The Court reversed the earlier decision, and the photo ID requirement was implemented for the 2023 municipal elections.
What identification can be used?
People without an ID such as a driver's license or passport can obtain a photo ID card from their local county board of elections.
If a person cannot produce an acceptable form of photo ID, they may vote in two different ways:
Complete an ID Exception Form and then vote with a provisional ballot; OR
Vote with a provisional ballot and then return to their local county Board of Elections office with their ID before the second Thursday following Election Day.
According to a study from Democracy NC, a progressive voting rights groups, during the 2023 municipal election, 4,272 voters cast provisional ballots. Of those, 573 cast provisional ballots due to not producing an acceptable photo identification.
The majority of these voters completed an ID exception form and ultimately had it approved, but 268 voters did not complete an ID exception form, according to the report. The majority of these voters did not return to the county board of elections to provide a copy of their photo ID.
Learn more about the requirements for photo ID from the State Board of Elections:
Find your early voting site
Early voting, which starts February 15th, offers voters choices before Election day.
Buncombe County has 11 sites for early voting:
Black Mountain Branch Library
105 N Dougherty Street
Black Mountain, NC 28711
Dr. Wesley Grant Southside Center
285 Livingston Street
Asheville, NC 28801
East Asheville Branch Library
3 Avon Rd
Asheville, NC 28805
Enka/Candler Branch Library
1404 Sand Hill Road
Candler, NC 28715
Fairview Branch Library
1 Taylor Rd
Fairview, NC 28730
Friendship Community Center
142 Shiloh Road
Asheville, NC 28803
Leicester Community Center
2979 New Leicester Hwy
Leicester, NC 28748
Reynolds Village
50 N Merrimon Ave # 109
Asheville, NC 28804
South Buncombe Branch Library
260 Overlook Road
Asheville, NC 28803
Weaverville Community Center
60 Lakeshore Dr
Weaverville, NC 28787
West Asheville Branch Library
942 Haywood Road
Asheville, NC 28806
Check hours and locations for early voting sites in every county on the North Carolina State Board of Elections website and below:
- Cherokee County
- Clay County
- Macon County
- Graham County
- Swain County
- Jackson County
- Haywood County
- Transylvania County
- Buncombe County
- Henderson County
- McDowell County
- Madison County
- Polk County
Early voting ends on Saturday, March 2nd. Election Day is March 5th. For more information, check out your local election board.
