NC elections board proposes new voter ID rules. Here’s what you need to know.

The State Board of Elections met Friday to consider new rules to implement voter ID, which will go into effect in just a few months as municipal elections begin this fall.

Board staff submitted two rules for consideration, one dealing with in-person photo ID and one dealing with photo ID via absentee ballots.

Here’s what to know.

Proposed rules for in-person voter ID

The first rule would give more specifics on how election workers are meant to determine a voter’s resemblance to their photo ID.

If an election worker determines the name or photo on the ID does not resemble the voter, the matter will go to a three-person panel of election officials, who will not all be of the same party. If the panel unanimously agrees that the ID does not resemble the voter, the voter will be asked to cast a provisional ballot.

Current law states that if a voter does not have ID, they will have to cast a provisional ballot and fill out an ID exception form. The proposed rule lays out the process for approving or rejecting those votes. County boards may only reject these provisional ballots if they unanimously find the information provided in the exception form to be false. Boards will be required to substantiate this finding in a written decision and give the voter an opportunity to be heard on the matter.

Proposed rules for absentee voter ID

If a voter uses an absentee ballot, they’ll have to include a copy of their photo ID in the mail. Voters without ID can also fill out an ID exception form with their absentee ballot.

County boards will then go through a similar process to in-person voting to determine if the ID is valid. If they see any deficiency in the application, staff will have to make an attempt to contact the voter and give them an opportunity to complete the application.

What happens now?

The rules haven’t actually been passed yet, as they require a three-week public comment period before board members can vote on them.

These are also only temporary rules — the public comment period for permanent rule proposals is much longer and would have interfered with the board’s ability to implement new rules in time for the first municipal elections in September.

The board has also asked for $6.5 million to implement voter ID this time around. The money would be used to train poll workers and conduct outreach campaigns so voters know what’s expected at the ballot box. The House’s budget proposal allocated $3.5 million for this, but the Senate’s budget provided no extra funds.

Senate leader Phil Berger told The News & Observer the funding is still subject to negotiation.

How did we get here?

Voters passed a constitutional amendment to institute voter ID in 2018 but the requirement got stuck in the courts until December of 2022, when the state Supreme Court’s former Democratic majority struck it down.

In April, the court’s new Republican majority overturned that ruling.

“The people of North Carolina overwhelmingly support voter identification and other efforts to promote greater integrity and confidence in our elections,” the court wrote in the Holmes v. Moore decision.