Voter ID

Counties were inconsistent in handling voter ID issues during 2023 elections for cities and towns, a report from nonprofit Democracy NC says.

The board is taking public comment on proposed rules for how poll officials will apply the photo ID requirement in NC elections.

State House Speaker Tim Moore says the current plan to introduce voter ID this year will make it too easy for voters to cast ballots without a photo identification.

Gov. Roy Cooper picked the five members from nominees provided by the state Democratic and Republican parties. The panel is tasked with helping implement a photo voter ID law and administering 2024 elections for president, governor and a host of other positions.

On Friday, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued three rulings — spanning voter ID, redistricting, and voting access for people with felony convictions — that will have a deep impact on how the state conducts elections.

Friday's opinions come less than four months since a new Republican majority on the court took their seats. The court swept away decisions made in December when the Democrats held a 4-3 seat advantage.

Republicans got rehearings in two election-related cases they lost last year at the then-Democrat-majority high court.

The North Carolina Supreme Court is revisiting this week whether a previous combination of justices got it wrong three months ago when declaring that the legislature produced illegal district lines tainted by excess partisanship and a photo voter identification law infected with racial bias.

The justices ruled 4-3 — with registered Democrats in the majority — that oral arguments over the constitutionality of a 2018 voter ID law will be held next month. Friday's order grants a request by minority voters who sued to overturn the law approved by the General Assembly.