A recent announcement from North Carolina’s State Board of Elections reported that student credentials from all UNC campuses would be eligible forms of voter identification for state elections. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has now weighed in on the inclusion of the UNC One Card in the initiative.
Per an official university release, UNC One Cards and other photo IDs issued by UNC System institutions will be acceptable forms of identification for 2020 elections in North Carolina. The university has now expressed its full support and outlined the process it undertook to meet state requirements.
UNC Chapel Hill’s original attempt in March to bring UNC One Cards in line with state voter ID requirements was denied by the State Board of Elections because “the university’s process allowed for individual ID card photo upload.” That law was rewritten to instead allow a university staff member to obtain and verify the photo without having to take the actual photograph.
The current UNC One Card process now complies with the revised state requirements, which led to the university’s November 26 approval by the State Board of Elections.
Starting next year, UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty and staff may opt to use their UNC One Card as a voter ID. Beginning in 2021, however, UNC One Cards will need to be stamped with an expiration date if they are to be used as a voter ID.
All cards issued beginning in July 2020 will have 10-year expiration dates. Current UNC One Card holders who want to use the campus card at the voting booth will need to get a new card that has been stamped with the expiration date.
UNC Chapel Hill Interim Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz provided the following statement:
“I’m pleased to share that the North Carolina State Board of Elections approved our request to allow students, faculty and staff to use their UNC One Cards as voting ID in future elections. Carolina is committed to supporting access for our students and employees to exercise their constitutional right to vote.”
Interim UNC System President William Roper also expressed his support:
“I am pleased that student and employee identification cards at each of our 17 institutions have now been approved by the N.C. State Board of Elections. This approval will allow any voting-eligible employee or student to exercise their civic duty. We wish to thank all of those who worked hard for months behind the scenes to make this happen.”
