Current:Home > NewsNorth Carolina appeals court blocks use of university’s digital ID for voting-LoTradeCoin
North Carolina appeals court blocks use of university’s digital ID for voting
View Date:2024-12-24 07:15:37
RALEIGH, N.C, (AP) — A North Carolina appeals court on Friday blocked students and employees at the state’s flagship public university from providing a digital identification produced by the school when voting to comply with a new photo ID mandate.
The decision by a three-judge panel of the intermediate-level Court of Appeals reverses at least temporarily last month’s decision by the State Board of Elections that the mobile ID generated by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill met security and photo requirements in the law and could be used.
The Republican National Committee and state Republican Party sued to overturn the decision by the Democratic-majority board earlier this month, saying the law only allows physical ID cards to be approved. Superior Court Judge Keith Gregory last week denied a temporary restraining order to halt its use. The Republicans appealed.
Friday’s order didn’t include the names of three judges who considered the Republicans’ requests and who unanimously ordered the elections board not to accept the mobile UNC One Card for casting a ballot this fall. The court releases the judges’ names later. Eleven of the court’s 15 judges are registered Republicans.
The order also didn’t give the legal reasoning to grant the GOP’s requests, although it mentioned a board memo that otherwise prohibits other images of physical IDs — like those copied or photographed — from qualifying.
In court briefs, lawyers for the RNC and NC GOP said refusing to block the ID’s use temporarily would upend the status quo for the November election — in which otherwise only physical cards are accepted — and could result in ineligible voters casting ballots through manipulating the electronic card.
North Carolina GOP spokesperson Matt Mercer said Friday’s decision “will ensure election integrity and adherence to state law.”
The Democratic National Committee and a UNC student group who joined the case said the board the board rightly determined that the digital ID met the requirements set in state law. The DNC attorneys wrote that preventing its use could confuse or even disenfranchise up to 40,000 people who work or attend the school so close to the election.
North Carolina is considered a presidential battleground state where statewide races are often close affairs.
Friday’s ruling could be appealed to the state Supreme Court. A lawyer for the DNC referred questions to a spokesperson for Kamala Harris’ campaign who didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A state board spokesperson also didn’t immediately respond to a similar request.
Voters can still show photo IDs from several broad categories, including their driver’s license, passport and military IDs The board also has approved over 130 types of traditional student and employee IDs.
The mobile UNC One Card marked the first such ID posted from someone’s smartphone that the board has OK’d. Only the mobile ID credentials on Apple phones qualified.
The mobile UNC One Card is now the default ID card issued on campus, although students and permanent employees can still obtain a physical card instead for a small fee. The school said recently it would create physical cards at no charge for those who received a digital ID but want the physical card for voting.
The Republican-dominated North Carolina legislature enacted a voter ID law in late 2018, but legal challenges prevented the mandate’s implementation until municipal elections in 2023. Infrequent voters will meet the qualifications for the first time this fall. Voters who lack an ID can fill out an exception form.
Early in-person voting begins Oct. 17, and absentee ballots are now being distributed to those requesting them. Absentee voters also must provide a copy of an ID or fill out the exception form.
veryGood! (2218)
Related
- A pregnant woman sues for the right to an abortion in challenge to Kentucky’s near-total ban
- 2016: Canada’s Oil Sands Downturn Hints at Ominous Future
- Ohio to Build First Offshore Wind Farm in Great Lakes, Aims to Boost Local Industry
- With telehealth abortion, doctors have to learn to trust and empower patients
- Arbitrator upholds 5-year bans of Bad Bunny baseball agency leaders, cuts agent penalty to 3 years
- That Global Warming Hiatus? It Never Happened. Two New Studies Explain Why.
- Ohio’s Struggling Manufacturing Sector Finds Clean Energy Clientele
- Police officer who shot 11-year-old Mississippi boy suspended without pay
- 2025 Medicare Part B premium increase outpaces both Social Security COLA and inflation
- Weapons expert Hannah Gutierrez-Reed accused of being likely hungover on set of Alec Baldwin movie Rust before shooting
Ranking
- Darren Criss on why playing a robot in 'Maybe Happy Ending' makes him want to cry
- Oversight Committee subpoenas former Hunter Biden business partner
- Can Trump Revive Keystone XL? Nebraskans Vow to Fight Pipeline Anew
- Damar Hamlin is discharged from Buffalo hospital and will continue rehab at home
- Why Officials Believe a Missing Kayaker Faked His Own Death and Ran Off to Europe
- Why Hailey Bieber Says She's Scared to Have Kids With Justin Bieber
- Author Aubrey Gordon Wants To Debunk Myths About Fat People
- Two active-duty Marines plead guilty to Jan. 6 Capitol riot charges
Recommendation
-
Olivia Munn began randomly drug testing John Mulaney during her first pregnancy
-
London Black Cabs Will Be Electric by 2020
-
Social isolation linked to an increased risk of dementia, new study finds
-
Arctic’s 2nd-Warmest Year Puts Wildlife, Coastal Communities Under Pressure
-
Ex-Marine misused a combat technique in fatal chokehold of NYC subway rider, trainer testifies
-
Kids’ Climate Lawsuit Thrown Out by Appeals Court
-
A guide to 9 global buzzwords for 2023, from 'polycrisis' to 'zero-dose children'
-
Farm Bureau Warily Concedes on Climate, But Members Praise Trump’s Deregulation