RNC Sues North Carolina Election Board to Block Use of UNC Digital IDs For Voting
The Republican National Committee (RNC) and the North Carolina Republican Party filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the State Election Board for allowing University of North Carolina (UNC) Chapel Hill students and employees to use digital IDs as a valid form of photo identification for in-person voting.
On Aug. 20, the North Carolina State Board of Election (NCSBE) voted to reverse previous guidance that only allowed physical, plastic photo ID cards to be used for voting.
This case marks the 200th voting and election lawsuit filed this cycle. Sign up for our free newsletters so you never miss a new lawsuit or court decision that could impact who takes the White House this fall.
In their lawsuit, the GOP plaintiffs argued that North Carolina election laws do not “directly describe or indirectly permit the use of electronic forms of photo identification ‘to confirm the person presenting to vote is the registered voter on the voter registration records.’”
But, UNC shifted over to digital IDs for university students and employees in August of 2023, so it’s still a new development that has not yet been addressed by the state legislature.
The RNC said in the lawsuit that digital IDs shouldn’t be used for a variety of reasons. The lawsuit argues digital IDs could be digitally altered, a poll worker may have difficulty seeing a voter’s device screen, there could be “network or hardware” problems during voting or they could make it easier for ineligible voters, specifically noncitizens, to cast a ballot in person.
Should the lawsuit prove successful, it could potentially disenfranchise thousands of college students whose student ID is their easiest, or only, form of photo identification while living on campus.
With less than two months until the 2024 election, the RNC asks a state court to block the use of these IDs this November.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) recently signed a law over the summer that will allow people to have mobile driver’s licenses starting in July 2025, so this issue will likely come up again in court.