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facebook.com
Star News TV
North Carolina voters will decide this November whether to amend the state constitution to make voter ID requirements more permanent.
Dr. David Holian, an associate political science professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, said the decision is about longevity. "What people are really voting on is whether they want the voter ID policy to extend long into the future," Holian said. Currently, all North Carolina voters must show photo identification, in person or by mail, with acceptable forms including a driver's license, passport, student ID or a free voter ID card from the county board of elections. Voters who cannot provide an ID can fill out an exception form. The requirement has been in place since voters approved a 2018 amendment, but the amendment did not address mail-in ballots and was not enforced until 2024 due to years of litigation.
Holian noted that there will be no change to voters' experience regardless of whether the amendment passes. The purpose is to constitutionalize the requirement, making it harder to repeal. Civil rights groups including the NAACP have challenged the law, arguing it disproportionately targets Black and brown voters, while several Republican lawmakers have pushed for stricter policies to protect election integrity. Holian said in-person voter fraud in the United States is exceedingly rare, and noted a recent Harvard study found no evidence that stricter voter requirements suppress the vote, nor evidence that they prevented more fraud.
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