RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) 鈥� A North Carolina trial judge refused on Thursday a Republican Party request that he block students and employees at the state鈥檚 flagship public university from being able to show a digital identification to comply with a largely new photo ID law.
Wake County Superior Court Judge Keith Gregory denied a temporary restraining order sought by the Republican National Committee and state GOP, according to an online court record posted after a hearing. The ruling can be appealed.
The groups to halt the use of the mobile UNC One Card at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a qualifying ID, saying state law only allows the State Board of Elections to approve physical cards.
The mobile UNC One Card was marking the first such ID posted from someone鈥檚 smartphone that the board has OK鈥檇.
The Democratic National Committee and a UNC-Chapel Hill student group joined the board in court to oppose the restraining order. They said the board rightly determined that the digital ID met the security and photo requirements set in state law in which to qualify.
In legal briefs, they also said there was nothing in the law that prevented the approval of a nonphysical card. The DNC attorneys wrote that preventing its use could confuse or even disenfranchise up to 40,000 people who work or attend the school.
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 announced this week that it would create physical cards at no charge for students and staff who received a digital ID but want the physical card for voting.
Voters already can choose to provide photo IDs from several broad categories, including their driver鈥檚 license, passport and military IDs The board also has approved over 130 types of traditional student and employee IDs that it says qualifies voting purposes in 2024, including UNC-Chapel Hill鈥檚 physical ID card. Only UNC-Chapel Hill mobile ID credentials on Apple phones were approved by the board.
Republicans said in the lawsuit they were worried that the mobile ID鈥檚 approval 鈥渃ould allow hundreds or thousands of ineligible voters鈥� to vote. They argued an electronic card was easier to alter and harder for a precinct worker to examine.
North Carolina is a presidential battleground state where statewide races are usually very close.
The ruling comes as potentially millions planning to vote in the fall elections haven鈥檛 had to show an ID under the state鈥檚 Legal challenges meant the mandate didn鈥檛 get carried out the first time until the low-turnout
While early in-person voting begins Oct. 17, the first absentee ballots requested are expected to to military and overseas voters, with ballots mailed to in-state registrants early next week. Absentee voters also must provide a copy of a qualifying ID with their completed ballot or fill out a form explaining why they don鈥檛 have one.
The Associated Press
