This is part of How to Vote from BPR News, a free, re-publishable guide to the 2024 elections. Learn more about republication.
The 2024 election season is well underway and while it’s too soon to vote, it’s not too soon to make sure you are ready.
This is the first time in a North Carolina General Election that voters will be asked for ID at the polls. Here's what you need to know about North Carolina voter ID laws and the upcoming General Election.
Bring your ID to vote in the 2024 General Election
In 2023, the state legislature passed a law that requires that every voter has to show a photo ID when showing up to vote.
The most common photo ID used is a driver's license.
Nelson Masinde is a training specialist with the state Board of Elections.
“Most people go to vote with their wallet with them. It's rare that somebody would not have their driver's license,” Masinde said at a training in Bryson City.
A driver’s license can be used even if it is expired for up to one year, he added. In this case, you would bring in your expired license, not the paper license issued by the DMV while you are waiting for a new license.
There are more than 120 other options for photo IDs to use including passports, military IDs, federally recognized tribal cards and many university student and employee ID cards.
“If the (student) photo IDs have no expiration date, we cannot allow them because they're not constantly vetting the students to make sure that they're still students,” Masinde said.
The state added 12 more student and governmental IDs to the approved list this month including Brevard College and Southwestern Community College student IDs.
Here’s the full list of IDs that will be accepted at the polls in North Carolina at BringItNC.gov.
Quick Voter ID info
- County Boards of Election and every North Carolina DMV office will issue a free photo ID acceptable for voting.
- Accepted voter IDs in North Carolina must be current and show an expiration date – with some exceptions.
- Make sure the ID you have is not expired, or that it meets the state’s rules for expired IDs (such as one year for most driver’s licenses).
- Voters over age 65 can use an expired ID if the license or photo ID expired after they turned 65.
- Some students, including UNC Chapel Hill students, can use digital student IDs to vote.
Free IDs are available across the state
All 100 county boards of elections will issue free voter photo IDs to registered voters in their county. To be issued a free voter photo ID card, the voter must share their name, date of birth and the last four digits of their Social Security number. They will then have their photo taken at the board, according to the Board of Elections. Find additional information at Get a Free Voter Photo ID.
“Creation and replacement of these IDs are free of charge,” Masinde said. “The only time they cannot be issued is a time between the end of Early Voting and Election Day.”
Early voting starts on October 17 and ends on November 2. Election Day is November 5. During that time an ID can still be issued at the DMV or another institution.
Voters who are voting absentee – meaning they request an absentee ballot – have to put in a copy of their photo ID. They can also fill out an exception form. Absentee ballots are also still required to have two witnesses sign the ballot.
If you don’t have an ID, you can still vote
Voters who forget their ID or have a legally permissible reason for not having an ID can file an exception form and vote. The form can be filed if the voter has a “reasonable impediment” for not having an ID such as disability, illness, lack of birth certificate or other documents needed to obtain ID. Find all the details here.
“They can fill out an exception form saying I can't go anywhere to get a photo ID or my driver's license has been expired for two years and I'm not able to physically go to the DMV and get a new one,” Masinde said.
Each county board of elections will ultimately decide to accept provisional ballots and judge exception forms. Swain County Board of Elections Director Adam Byrne weighed in on the issue.
“As long as they have given us an exception then generally we're going to recommend that to the Board of Elections that they accept that balance. But at the end of the day, it is the board's decision and not my decision. All I can do is recommend,” Byrne said at the training.
Provisional ballots are provided for voters who are not able to provide all the information to prove that they are eligible to vote. County board of elections members will make the final determinations about voter eligibility.
