Update 8/20: Digital OneCards were APPROVED for use as voter ID in the 2024 elections.
UNC classes start August 19, meaning thousands of students are busy settling into dorms and apartments in Chapel Hill, making special friends on YikYak, and navigating the soul crushing bureaucracies of the registrar and financial aid offices.
Among the annual student rituals is getting a UNC One Card, a student ID card that grants access to a campus buildings, services, and events.
Before this school year, One Cards were physical cards with student’s photo, and they were on the list of voter IDs approved by the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE). Physical One Cards remain approved for voting.
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This year, however, UNC is switching to digital One Cards, which are not currently approved as voter IDs.
The One Card office says physical cards can still be issued “on a case-by-case basis.” Physical cards will cost student $10, while digital cards are free. Clearly, UNC is clearly pushing students to go digital, which is perfectly reasonable. But that also makes it important that digital cards can serve as official ID cards for voting.
UNC is seeking NCSBE approval for the digital cards to count as voter IDs
North Carolina has specific requirements for student IDs to qualify as voter ID, including that the issuing campus has systems in place for determining students’ identify, collecting high-quality photos, and keeping equipment used to create the cards secure.
In June, UNC submitted an application for approval of digital One Cards for voting. In the application and emails with NCSBE, UNC demonstrates its responsiveness to each requirement required by the statute.
Will NCSBE approve the request?
We certainly hope so – thousands of new students will be getting digital One Cards. And it appears UNC has met all requirements in the statute.
A source with knowledge of the situation conveyed to us that NCSBE staff have recommended approval but one GOP board member is opposed, which means the full board must vote on the request. That meeting will be Tuesday, August 20, at 12:30pm.
We do not know which board member is opposed, nor why. But with democracy on the ropes and in the face of ongoing efforts to restrict voting, we get a little antsy even for decisions that seem like a no brainer.
Watch the NCSBE Board meeting
The virtual meeting is open to the public at:
Meeting link: https://ncgov.webex.com/ncgov/j.php?MTID=m183eb5896b737daddcf28a354066e1af
Password: ncsbe
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Spread the word
The more people paying attention, the lower the likelihood of any shenanigans.
Tell a student. If you’re a student, tell your friends. Even if they are at other campuses in North Carolina (public and private). Digital IDs will probably be rolling out to most campuses over the next few years.
Know a parent of a UNC student? They probably thought when they shipped their kid and $27,000 off to Chapel Hill that they wouldn’t face unnecessary barriers to voting. Share this post with them.
Email the NCSBE Board
Send a quick and friendly email to the Board letting them know UNC has met the requirements of 163-166.17 and digital UNC One Cards should be approved for voter IDs.
Alan Hirsch, Chair, [email protected]
Jeff Carmon, [email protected]
Stacy “Four” Eggers IV, [email protected]
Kevin N. Lewis, [email protected]
Siobhan O’Duffy Millen, [email protected]