Bombardment from all sides. Our local Republicans on the County Board, the NC State Board of Elections, and happening after Nan Lund’s letter was written, passage of new and extreme voting bills from the NC State Senate on 7/28/26. https://ncnewsline.com/2026/07/28/nc-senate-approves-controversial-elections-bill-along-party-lines/

The most common documents used to provide a photo ID at the time of voting is a driver’s license or a passport. A common question often heard is “how hard is it to show an ID?” Let’s explore that question and rules that keep changing in NC.

Only approximately one third of residents of North Carolina have a passport and it is not possible to get a passport unless you pay a hefty fee and provide proof of your identity. Visit the U.S. Passport assistance for a long page of detailed instructions.

Obtaining a passport can feel daunting and what if you don’t have a valid N.C. driver’s license? According to the Brennan Center for Justice, approximately nine percent of voting-age citizens do not have a current driver’s license and an additional 12 percent have a license that does not match their current address or current name.

There are a number of reasons people do not have a valid and current ID. Lack of transportation or time to get to a Department of Motor Vehicles office. Cost of changing the address on license. Theft of the license. Fire in residence. Natural disaster. Religious objections. In NC it is legal to vote without a photo ID. The voter can fill out a photo ID Exception form and cast a provisional ballot in an election.

This week the NC State Board of Elections approved a rule that makes it easier for county boards, like Rowan County’s, to toss out eligible votes of citizens using legal voter ID exception forms. If the three GOP members, who hold a majority on all 100 county boards, don’t believe your reason for not being able to show photo ID, your vote won’t count. State Board of Elections’ data shows that if this rule had been in place in 2024, one party would have decided the fate of ballots cast by more than 4,600 eligible North Carolinians. That certainly would have made a difference in election results and we can anticipate it will be used in upcoming elections which could determine another pivotal NC Supreme Court seat or in other close races where every eligible citizen’s vote should count.

This provides yet another example of the ongoing effort to reduce the number of voters in North Carolina, along with trying to limit the number of Early Voting days and changing polling places to disadvantage students and people of color. Our only recourse is to continue to challenge these actions, and vote to change the constituency of the state legislature. That is everyone’s job.

Nan Lund