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NC universities haven't signed off on student IDs for voting

Consternation on the voter ID law's requirements may mean legislative change, but a key House leader commits to addressing any issues.

Posted Updated

By
Travis Fain
, WRAL statehouse reporter
RALEIGH, N.C. — There may be a problem with using North Carolina college identification cards as the required photo ID to vote, but state leaders say they're working it out.

So far, none of the state's public universities has filed required paperwork to allow their students to use campus IDs at the polls. A State Board of Elections spokesman said he did not believe any of the state's 58 community colleges or any private universities had completed the process either.

The deadline hits in a little more than two weeks, though legislation was put in Monday to delay that until September.

Other legislation may also be used to bridge the issue. House Rules Committee Chairman David Lewis said that, if so, it will happen quickly, during the ongoing legislative session.

Lewis, R-Harnett, said the legislature's "commitment to having college students vote is unwavering." Allowing students to use their campus IDs to vote was a major point of debate during last year's voter ID fight at the statehouse.

Attorneys with the State Board of Elections and the University of North Carolina system are talking, and it may not take a change in the law to get past the issue. Lewis said legislative staff will meet with UNC Senior Vice President and General Counsel Tom Shanahan this week as well.

North Carolina's voter ID law, added to the state constitution by voters in November and fleshed out with a number of rules by legislators in December, requires campus officials to confirm a number of things about student IDs at their college, including that the school has confirmed a student's identity.

This has to be done by signed letter, under penalty of perjury, and it seems there may be some balking.

"Students at UNC system institutions currently may receive student IDs even if they are not citizens or do not have Social Security numbers or are not 18 years of age," Shanahan said in a statement Monday.

"UNC system institutions continue to work through these and other requirements of the law. They are also working to identify ways to assist in obtaining valid photo ID for those students and employees who need it, in the event that institutionally-issued IDs cannot be certified for use by the March deadline."

The issue was first reported by Watauga Watch, a political blog that reported Shanahan shared concerns with a number of professors. State Board of Elections spokesman Patrick Gannon confirmed to WRAL News that none of the state's public universities had filed the needed letters, and that elections board legal staff would be speaking to Shanahan's office.

A spokesman for the state's community college system said administrators have given all 58 of their campuses information from the state board on how to apply and hosted a webinar to answer questions on voter ID. The system is structured to emphasize local autonomy though, spokesman Brian Long said in an email, and the decision to sign off on ID compliance "rests locally with each college."

Appalachian State University Chancellor Sheri Everts put out a statement Friday titled "The Right to Vote," saying she'd discussed "the legal aspects and responsibilities presented" by the state's voter ID law.

"Our institution places enormous value on the civic engagement of our faculty, staff and students," Everts said in the statement. "Our focus during this process is and will continue to be on learning everything we can about this new law and the ongoing education of our students and the greater Appalachian community. We will work closely with the county and state boards of elections to be certain we educate and enable our students to assert their legal right to vote."

The law requires the chancellor, president or registrar of a university or college to submit a signed letter attesting to several things, including that:

  • ID cards are issued with photographs taken by the university or college, or a contractor
  • Cards are issued after "an enrollment process that includes methods of confirming the identity of the student that include, but are not limited to, the Social Security number, citizenship status and birth date of the student"
  • Equipment used to produce the cards is kept in a secure location
  • Misuse of the equipment would be grounds for student discipline or employee termination
  • University or college officials would report any misuse of student identification card equipment to law enforcement
  • The cards have an expiration date
  • Students are given information on voting and state voting laws, including the penalty for voting in multiple states.

The law says the State Board of Elections must sign off on IDs to be used in the 2019 and 2020 elections by March 15. Applications from the colleges and universities are currently due March 13.

A Wake County Superior Court judge actually struck down the state constitution's voter ID clause Friday, but that decision is expected to be appealed.

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