I’ve been a resident of Rowan County for a long time and seen changes come and go, but this year’s new Voter ID requirements had me concerned. Many of my neighbors and even some of my friends don’t have State ID or driver’s licenses. None attend participating universities for an automatically-approved student ID card. So I wondered – how on earth would they get a proper ID to vote?

Thanks to the efforts of Board of Elections and the Rowan County Democratic Party, I learned about the solution; Free Voter Identification Cards! First thing this morning, I finally had the time and decided that I’d head over and get one myself, just to let folks know about the process and how straightforward it could be.

The Board of Elections advertises on their social media platforms and website that you can ‘walk in and have an ID in just a few minutes!’ Sure, I thought, this shouldn’t take too long – and just as I thought, it didn’t at all!

Walking in the doors, I was greeted by the folks working there within seconds, and not two minutes later was handed a simple sheet of paperwork, single-sided, only a few lines to answer. Full name, date of birth, last four of my social security number, phone number, and email address. Below that, you’ll have to fill in your street address (in case there’s a problem and they need to mail your ID to you), then simply sign at the bottom. It was trivially easy, even with my 15 month old son in one arm.

The only other step is to get your photograph taken! Within a couple minutes, your ID card is freshly printed and ready to go – and timed, the entire process took seven minutes door-to-door. It’s an incredibly quick and convenient way to make sure you’ve got a valid ID for the upcoming election, and much faster than the traditional DMV waits many of us have joked about for years.

In short: If you need an approved ID for voting this year, this is one of the easiest and fastest ways to get it.

The Rowan County Board of Elections is located in the Old Salisbury Mall at 1935 Jake Alexander Blvd W #10, Salisbury, NC 28147 and is open weekdays from 8-5.