North Carolina residents who present to vote in the May 6 Primary and early voting will be asked if they have an acceptable photo ID. Those who indicate they do not have acceptable photo ID will be asked to sign an acknowledgement to that affect and the State Board of Elections will contact them to ensure they can obtain proper photo ID required by the Voter Information Verification Act by 2016.
Some acceptable forms of photo ID include: an unexpired North Carolina driver’s license or learner’s permit or provisional license; an unexpired United States passport; a military or veterans identification card; and a tribal enrollment card issued by a tribe recognized by the U.S. or North Carolina. An out-of-state driver’s license or non-operators identification card is valid only if the person’s voter registration date in the county is within 90 days of the date of the election. Student IDs, are not acceptable, even if they are from a state school.
Although the photo ID is not required until 2016, it may take some time to acquire the necessary documents and possibly some fees, particularly if they need to be acquired from out-of-state. The State has waived the fee to acquire a non-operator ID card issued by the North Carolina DMV for an acceptable photo ID. The fees to obtain any North Carolina vital records required to obtain the non-operator card will also be waived.
For Polk County residents, the Motor Vehicle Bureau (MVB) comes to Courthouse Square in Columbus every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., unless it is the first day of the month. Those residing in Polk County who need transportation to the MVB may call the Polk County Transportation Authority at 828-894-8203. Arrangements must be made two days in advance.
– article submitted
by Robin Edgar