First digital ID approved as legal voter identification in North Carolina

Student voters at North Carolina’s flagship public university can now use digital credentials to fulfill state voter ID requirements. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Mobile One Card has been approved by the State Board of Elections as valid voter identification, satisfying recently introduced photo ID requirements.

The decision enables the first mobile digital credential to be included among the state’s roughly 130 student and government identification cards designated as valid proof of identity when voting.

UNC Mobile One cards are available to students who use an iPhone.

The Wilkes Borough-Patriot out of North Wilkesboro, NC, has an Associated Press report saying Democratic members of the board voted to support digital ID on the grounds that young people increasingly rely on their phones, and as such digital credentials only make sense as a way to make voting more accessible.

“There’s certainly enough flexibility within the statute for us to approve a digital card as a card,” says Board Chair Alan Hirsch. “I think that’s the way of the world.”

Voting with digital ID not like football tickets: Four Eggers

Republicans, meanwhile, have found grounds to object, arguing that state voting laws imply the necessity of a physical card until the General Assembly votes otherwise. A Republican board member named Four Eggers is quoted, arguing “this is a different process we’re doing here than simply giving my friend my football tickets when I download them from the website.”

State Board Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell says UNC-Chapel Hill’s digital credential meets all the standards for the new photo ID mandate, including an expiration date listed on the ID.

Nonetheless, the state GOP has taken social media to shake its fists on the decision, tweeting, “The NC State Board of Elections is playing more games with Election Integrity. Permitting a ‘Digital ID’ on its face VIOLATES Voter ID requirements, especially when many other options are readily available and funded by State Law. Rest assured – we won’t stand for it.” A legal challenge may follow.

However, Hirsch’s assertion that the world – and North Carolina – is moving toward digital credentials is hard to argue with, considering that the state is set to start issuing mobile driver’s licenses (mDL) in July 2025.

The NC Board of Elections’ website includes the disclaimer that “all voters will be allowed to vote with or without a photo ID. If a voter cannot show photo ID when voting in person, they can still vote by filling out an ID Exception Form.”

Article Topics

digital ID  |  elections  |  identity verification  |  North Carolina  |  United States  |  voter identification