GOP sues NC elections board for allowing use of UNC digital IDs for voting

The North Carolina Republican Party and the Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit Thursday against the State Board of Elections for allowing students at UNC-Chapel Hill to use digital IDs to vote.

On Aug. 20, the State Board of Elections approved the use of the university’s “One Card.” The “One Card” is a form of student identification that exists only on the iPhone or Apple Watch and allows students to enter campus buildings, make purchases, access parking lots or enter sporting events. Students without an Apple product or who choose not to use the digital form still have a physical option.

But the Republican Party is challenging the board’s decision, arguing that the digital ID does not meet the standards of the law, enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly, that requires a form of ID to be one of several listed “tangible items” from drivers licenses to registered voter ID cards.

Among the Republicans’ arguments for why the digital IDs should not be allowed:

▪ They could be easier to alter.

▪ The screens could be hard to see.

▪ Network or hardware problems could prevent the ID from being used.

▪ It leads to questions about whether iPads or laptops can be brought into polling places.

▪ Would the device become the possession of NCSBE if a dispute arises?

Republicans say the list of potential problems are vast, yet to be discovered and are best left to state lawmakers to consider.

“The General Assembly passes the laws in North Carolina,” the lawsuit states. “State agencies must follow, but not amend or deviate from those laws.”

The North Carolina state legislature holds a Republican super majority. The board of elections is majority Democrat.

The two Republicans on the board, who both disagreed with allowing digital IDs to be used, made several of the points lawyers used in the litigation.

A large section of the lawsuit defines both “tangible” and “card” for the judges.

And it says the board of elections knew the One Card wasn’t a proper form of identification because it previously denied the use of photo copies or photos on a phone of someone’s ID.

When the board decided to allow One Cards, executive director Karen Brison Bell explained, “This is not merely a copy or a photocopy. These are issued IDs with expiration dates displayed,” The News & Observer previously reported.

The lawsuit counters that “...the law does not allow the NCSBE to expand the circumstances of what is an acceptable student identification card, beyond a tangible, physical item, to something only found on a computer system.”

The lawsuit was filed in Wake County Superior Court. It is not clear how quickly the case will be taken up.

On Monday, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the North Carolina State Board of Elections could not send out mail-in ballots, expected to be sent to members of the military and other North Carolina residents who requested them on Sept. 6. Instead, the board must reprint the ballots to remove Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name. The process has potential to force the board to miss the federal deadline to mail out mail-in ballots.

In the Spotlight designates ongoing topics of high interest that are driven by The News & Observer’s focus on accountability reporting.