⚠️ What’s Happening?

The North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) is considering a new rule that would make it easier to discard the votes of citizens who can’t get a photo ID.

Right now, a County Board of Elections must vote unanimously to reject a ballot cast using an ID exception form. The proposed rule lowers that threshold to only a simple majority. This change would turn a process that currently requires consensus into one that  could be decided along partisan lines.

🗳️ Why it Matters

The ID exception form exists for eligible voters who can’t get an accepted photo ID: people who lost documents, lack transport to the DMV, live with a disability, or were hit by a natural disaster.

These voters are already among the most vulnerable in the state. Their access to the ballot deserves protection, not a lower bar to take it away.

Thousands of North Carolinians voted using the ID exception form in 2024. That means the ballots put at risk under this rule could decide the outcome of future close races.

📢 How You Can Help

The NCSBE is accepting public comments on the proposed rule until July 14, 2026 at 11:59 pm ET. A clear, strong public response is our best option for slowing, stopping, or changing it.

Every comment goes on the official record and must be reviewed by the NCSBE before this rule can take effect.

Submit a public comment today and tell the NCSBE to stop this harmful rule!

How to Submit Comment Online

• Go to the NCSBE Public Comment Portal ➜ 2026 Rulemaking – Photo ID. The form to submit your comment is at the bottom of this page.
• Select the rule you are commenting on: 08 NCAC 17.0101 (Verification of Photo Identification During In-Person Voting)

• Complete the required fields with your name and email address.
• Write a message in the comment section explaining why you oppose the proposed rule. You can use this sample comment to get started.
• The deadline to submit your comment is July 14, 2026! 

How to Submit Comment by Email

• Note the rules you are commenting on: 08 NCAC 17.0101 (Verification of Photo Identification During In-Person Voting) + 08 NCAC 17 .0109: Photo Identification for Absentee-By-Mail Ballots
• Write an email explaining why you oppose the proposed rules. You can use this sample comment to get started.
• Email your comment to: [email protected]
• The deadline to email your comment is July 14, 2026! 

How to Submit Comment by Mail

• Write a letter explaining why you oppose the proposed rule. You can use this sample comment to get started.
• Note the rules you are commenting on: 08 NCAC 17.0101 (Verification of Photo Identification During In-Person Voting) + 08 NCAC 17 .0109: Photo Identification for Absentee-By-Mail Ballots
• Mail your comment to: Attn: Rulemaking Coordinator, P.O. Box 27255, Raleigh, NC 27611-7255
• Your comment must be received by July 14, 2026! 

Sample Comment

Our partners at Democracy NC drafted the sample comment below. Use it as inspiration for your own comment.

Personalizing your comment to highlight your experience or expertise helps the most!

In your own words, share: who you are, that you oppose lowering the threshold to reject an ID exception form from a unanimous vote to a simple majority, and why protecting these ballots matters to you.

Democracy NC Sample Comment:

Dear Members of the North Carolina State Board of Elections,

I am a registered voter in [County] County and have been voting since [Year]. I care deeply about free and fair elections because [your personal reason].

I am writing to formally oppose the proposed rule change that would lower the threshold for county boards to discard ballots submitted with a voter ID exception form from a unanimous vote to a simple majority.

There is no justification for this change. There are no reported cases of exception forms being wrongfully accepted and no evidence of abuse that would warrant a lower rejection threshold. What we have documented is the opposite problem: county boards second-guessing voters’ stated reasons for using the form rather than evaluating whether those reasons are truthful. That is not the standard the law requires. The unanimous vote requirement exists precisely to prevent that kind of partisan interference — ensuring that discarding a legitimate ballot requires genuine bipartisan consensus, not a party-line vote. With all 100 county boards controlled by one party, lowering that threshold to a simple majority removes the only check protecting voters from politically motivated ballot rejection.

The voters most harmed are those the exception form was built to serve — people who lost their ID in a natural disaster, cannot get to a DMV, live with a disability, or face other documented barriers to obtaining a qualifying photo ID. Black voters make up 23% of registered voters in North Carolina but 34% of those without a qualifying ID. In 2024, voter ID was the second most common problem raised by callers to North Carolina’s Election Protection Hotline, and roughly 74% of voters who cast provisional ballots for lack of photo ID never returned with documentation and lost their votes entirely. These are not abstractions. They are members of our communities whose voices were silenced — and this rule change will silence more of them.

This change solves a problem that does not exist while creating a very real threat to voters who have no other path to the ballot box. I urge the Board to reject it.

Respectfully submitted,
[Your Name] [Your Address] [City, State, ZIP]