Bill Summaries: S822 FORMS OF PHOTO ID/PROVIDE VOTER PHOTO ID.

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  • Summary date: Nov 27 2018 - View Summary

    Part 1

    Repeals the following statutes: GS 163A-1145 (photo identification requirement), GS 163A-1146 (nonreasonable resemblance of photo identification), and GS 163A-1147 (reasonable impediment declaration).

    Enacts GS 163A-1145.1, setting out the requirement to produce photo identification to vote in person. Outlines the following acceptable forms of photo identification, which must be valid and unexpired: NC driver's license; a special identification card or similar card issued by the NC Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV); a US passport; an NC voter photo identification card; a tribal enrollment card issued by a federally or state recognized tribe; a student ID card issued by a constituent institution of UNC, a North Carolina community college, or any accredited private college or university located in North Carolina; a driver's license or special identification card issued by another state, DC, or a US territory so long as the voter’s voter registration was within 90 days of the election; any identification card issued by the federal government, the State, or local government; or an identification card issued by a public or private entity that required the employee to provide their date of birth and the last four digits of their Social Security number. Allows for a US military identification card or Veterans Identification Card to be presented and accepted regardless of expiration. Allows for any expired form of identification allowed by the statute to be presented by a voter who is 70 years old so long as the identification was unexpired on the voter’s 70th birthday. Provides that a registered voter that cannot produce the required photo identification and casts a provisional ballot on election day can request that the county board of elections issue a voter photo identification card after the election and prior to the completion of canvassing. Effective January 1, 2021, and applies to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

    Amends GS 163A-1300, requiring county boards of elections to issue a North Carolina voter identification card upon request to applicants or registered voters that do not possess a valid form of photo identification. Requires the voter ID card to contain the photograph of the applicant or registered voter, be issued free of charge, and valid for four years. Requires the county boards to issue voter ID cards at the one-stop voting site located at the county board of elections office and additional sites as it deems necessary. Requires the applicant or registered voter to provide a copy of a document listed in GS 163A-1144(a)(2), which requires first time voters who registered by mail to present a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document showing the name and address of the voter. Limits use of the voter ID card to election purposes, including voting in the election on the same day it is issued. Directs the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement to adopt implementing rules. Makes conforming changes. Effective January 1, 2020, and applies to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

    Part 2

    Amends GS 20-37.7 to allow special identification cards to be issued free of charge to applicants who are at least 17 (was, 70) years old. Makes conforming changes.

    Repeals GS 163A-868, which allowed for a declaration of a religious objection to being photographed to register to vote.

    Repeals the following statutes regarding voter photo identification: GS 163A-1140(b) (concerning curbiside voting), GS 163A-1167 (concerning counting provisional ballots cast due to failure to provide photo identification when voting in person), GS 163A-1168 (concerning counting provisional ballots cast following completion of a reasonable impediment declaration when voting in person) .

    Makes conforming changes to GS 130A-93.1(c), GS 161-10(a)(8), GS 163A-869(e), GS 163A-913, GS 163A-1137(a), GS 163A-1301(a), and GS 163A-1389(13).

    Part 3

    Directs the State Board and county boards of elections to inform the public about the availability of North Carolina voter photo ID cards as provided. 

    Requires in-person voters to be notified of the photo identification requirement that begins in 2021 and asked if they have one of the permissible forms of photo identification at each primary and election between March 1, 2019, and January 1, 2021. Requires voters that do not have a permissible photo identification to sign an acknowledgment of the requirement and be given a list of the types of permissible forms and information on how to obtain them. Provides that the list of names of voters who signed an acknowledgment is public record. Effective January 1, 2019.

    Part 4

    Appropriates to the State Board $952,500 for the 2018-19 fiscal year, specifying $840,000 is to be used for education and outreach and $112,500 is to be used for equipment for the county boards of election.

    Part 5

    Provides that Part 3 of the act (possibly intends Part 2) is effective January 1, 2021, and applies to primaries and elections held on or after that date.