Court battle over student digital ID approval for voter verification in US state

The Republican National Committee and North Carolina Republican Party are fighting a decision to allow student digital IDs from UNC-Chapel Hill as proof of identity for the 2024 election in court.

The RNC and state party filed for a temporary restraining order after the North Carolina State Board of Elections voted to allow their use in the upcoming federal election.

The use of student digital IDs for voter verification was approved by the Board in August in a 3-2 vote along party lines. More than 100 student and employee IDs have been approved in the past, but all took the form of physical IDs, The News & Observer reports. Republican Board Member Stacy Eggers says the state does not “have the statutory authority for a mobile app to take the place of the identification card.”

The law mentions “identification cards,” but does not explicitly state that they must by physical.

Board Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell noted that the digital ID “is not merely a copy or a photocopy”

The court filing argues that the IDs must be physical, and that allowing the digital ID would allow ineligible voters to cast ballots.

Wake Superior Court Judge Keith Gregory rejected the attempt to block the decision on Thursday, pointing out that the digital ID cannot be used to register as a voter, but simply indicates the identity of a person who has already registered – or has not.

On Monday, the RNC and state party filed an appeal spotted by The Carolina Journal. They argue that the digital ID “is far less secure than the forms of permissible photo identification listed in the statute” and “can be easily manipulated using publicly available mobile applications.”

With early in-person voting set to begin on October 17, they are requesting a temporary stay and injunction to block the lower court’s ruling while the case is heard. The Democratic National Committee responded with a brief arguing that no ruling should be issued by the appeals court until all sides have been heard.

Another brief, from the State Board of Elections, pushes back on the RNC claim that the Mobile One Card is not eligible for approval as photo ID.

“In fact, the opposite is true: State law requires the State Board to ‘approve the use of student identification cards issued by a constituent institution of The University of North Carolina’ and ’employee identification cards issued by a state or local government entity,’ so long as certain criteria are met. UNC and the Mobile One Card met each of these criteria.”

Republican Elections Board Member Kevin Lewis argues that North Carolina’s general assembly would have to expand the voter ID statute to include mobile apps to allow the student digital ID.

Article Topics

digital ID  |  elections  |  identity document  |  mobile app  |  North Carolina  |  student ID  |  United States  |  voter identification