Yesterday the North Carolina Board of Elections approved 99 student and public employee ID cards for use in the 2023 and 2024 elections. As we reported earlier, beginning with the 2023 municipal elections, North Carolina voters will be required to show photo ID when they check in to vote. Voters who vote by mail will be asked to include a photocopy of an acceptable ID when returning their ballot by mail.

A PDF of all approved IDs is here. The following student ID cards and employee identification cards are approved for use as photo identification for voting statewide through December 31, 2024. All approved student and employee ID cards are acceptable statewide for use as photo identification for voting.

These Orange County IDs can be used state-wide

  • Orange County Government – Employee
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – Student and Employee

These Durham County IDs can be used state-wide

  • Duke University – Duke Student Voter ID Card
  • Durham County Government – Employee
  • Durham Technical Community College – Student
  • KIPP Durham Middle School – Employee
  • KIPP Durham Elementary School – Employee
  • North Carolina Central University (NCCU) – Student and Employee

In addition, the following IDs can be used statewide in any election:

Any of the following that is unexpired or expired for one year or less:

  • North Carolina Driver’s License
  • U.S. Passport/U.S. Passport Card
  • State ID (“non-operator ID”), from the NC DMV
  • NC Voter Photo ID card, issued by a county board of elections (available soon)
  • College/university student ID approved by NCSBE
    • Both employees and students can use UNC ID
  • Charter school employee ID approved by NCSBE
  • State/local government employee ID approved by NCSBE
  • a driver’s license/non-driver ID from another state, DC, or US territory (only if voter is registered in NC within 90 days of election)

Any of the following, regardless of whether the ID contains an expiration or issuance date:

  • Military or veteran ID card issued by the U.S. government
  • Tribal enrollment card issued by a State or federally recognized tribe
  • ID card issued by a U.S. government agency or the State of NC for a public assistance program

Source: NC State Board of Elections

Make your 2023 municipal election voting plan

Beginning with the 2023 municipal elections, North Carolina voters will be required to show photo ID when they check in to vote. Voters who vote by mail will be asked to include a photocopy of an acceptable ID when returning their ballot by mail.

Check your voter registration now. You can look it up here. This is really important particularly if you’ve moved in the past year.

Make a plan to vote during early voting. This ensures that if there’s a problem, you can sort it out. Early voting runs from October 19-November 4. Here is the complete schedule of voting sites, dates, and times for Orange County.

Read about the new voter ID requirements. Every vote counts in North Carolina, and this information must be shared early and often. If you know of people who have just moved here, or students, or new neighbors, please let them know about registering and the voter ID requirements.

Read all of Triangle Blog Blog’s 2023 election coverage

In the last municipal election cycle, we helped increase turnout by over 20 percent. We're all volunteers who care deeply about Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and we're working to make Chapel Hill and Carrboro more vibrant, accessible, fun, and sustainable.  Please consider a small donation to help us keep our digital lights on, host events, and hire students to do data deep-dives.

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Melody Kramer is a Peabody-award winning journalist whose work has appeared on NPR and member stations around the country, as well as in publications ranging from National Geographic to Esquire Magazine....