Colleges, government agencies have until Wednesday to get their IDs approved for use by voters

The North Carolina State Board of Elections sent a reminder this week to schools and government agencies that if students or employees wish to use school or work ID to vote, the board must have approved them ahead of time.

Under the law, "Student ID cards issued by North Carolina’s public or private universities and colleges, and employee ID cards issued by state and local government entities or charter schools, are valid forms of photo ID for voting when approved by the State Board of Elections."

The organizations must submit a signed forms and images of the photo ID card to the State Board of Elections by Wednesday in order to users to be able to show them as a valid form of ID to vote this fall.

Approvals granted this year are only good through Dec. 31, 2023. There will be another window for colleges and government entities to seek approval before the 2024 elections.

North Carolina voters added a photo ID requirement to the state constitution in 2018, but the issue had been tied up by a series of lawsuits, and photo ID hasn't been required in recent elections.

The law now in place generally requires photo ID to vote, but there's an exception allowing people to vote without one if they fill out a form attesting to a reasonable impediment that kept them from having ID at the polls.

For those who don't have a North Carolina driver's license or one of the approved school or work IDs, photo IDs are available free from the state.