Why you should pay attention to North Carolina’s Require Voter Identification Amendment this election.
This article is a part of Down-Ballot, a weeklong series highlighting state measures worth watching in the 2026 United States election.
Since 2018, North Carolina law has required photo identification for in-person voting, as do 24 other states. This November 3, however, state residents will vote on the North Carolina Require Voter Identification Amendment measure, a “legislatively referred constitutional amendment,” or referendum, which would alter the state’s constitution. It would require all voters—including absentee and mail-in voters—to provide a photo ID in order to participate in elections.
Whether voters reject or pass the amendment, the current voting requirements in the state of North Carolina would remain the same.
You’re not alone if you’re wondering why it’s even on the ballot. But North Carolina policy experts are concerned about it, warning that a ‘Yes’ vote would likely have lasting implications.
Recent changes to North Carolina voting laws
The last time that language about voter IDs appeared on North Carolina’s ballot was in 2024. Since then, a photocopy of a voter’s photo identification has been required for mail-in voting. Currently, there are still exceptions for lost or stolen IDs, or a voter’s disability status, allowing voters to use an alternative method of identification, like sharing the last four digits of their Social Security number.
According to Brooks Fuller, Policy Director with Common Cause NC, a non-partisan network of grassroots state policy experts, the original reason for the proposed measure was to ensure that voters are indeed who they say they are.
This year’s proposed amendment, however, does not include any language on exceptions, and Fuller says this could affect many US voters, muddying its true end goal.
“The only logical conclusion is that the legislators passing these laws want to make it more difficult for people to vote,” he says. “I imagine they can see who tends to vote by mail, and it’s voters who they would prefer not to [be able to] vote.”
Data from 2022 analyzed by the non–partisan nonprofit Secure Democracy shows that nearly half of rural voters across the country vote by mail. In North Carolina, while most mail-in voters are white, Asian and Pacific Islander voters are the most likely to request an absentee ballot, while Black voters increased their mail-in participation five-fold in 2020. Black voters are also more likely to have their mail-in ballots rejected, generally for minor errors like a missing signature or address.
Democracy for all, not just a few
President of The League of Women Voters of North Carolina Jennifer McMillian Rubin says the proposed amendment is “troubling.” If passed, it would pose a barrier to North Carolina residents who are serving in the military or overseas, and Rubin argues being forced to mail in a photocopy of their IDs would likely keep them from voting.
The Voter Identification Amendment is just one of three referendums that The League is opposing this year. The other two, the Property Tax Levy Limit Amendment and the Reduce Constitutional Income Tax Cap amendments, would reduce the maximum personal income tax rate from 7% to 3.5% and require limits on property tax increases by local governments, respectively. The League is at odds with such changes because they would shift local funding decisions to the state, cement policy decisions into the constitution, and potentially reduce funding for future services, like education or disaster relief.
Altogether, the three propositions ”place policy decisions into the Constitution that are better addressed through legislation, where elected officials can respond to changing needs and voters can hold them accountable,” says Rubin. “It seems like overkill to put additional verbiage that would make this more permanent, more stringent, and less flexible to adapt to changing times and changing requirements.”
Common Cause NC, a nonprofit that works to protect voting rights, is concerned that historically marginalized populations will be most impacted by the proposal. Besides Black voters, Hispanic/Latine residents, disabled or elderly voters, people who work multiple jobs with varied shifts, and residents who simply do not drive could also be affected if the amendment passes.
In 2013, the US Supreme Court removed critical components of the Voting Rights Act, including requiring that certain districts obtain federal clearance before changing voting laws or practice due to previous racial discrimination. North Carolina’s legislature responded by decreasing accessibility to voting through tactics like closing down polling locations predominantly used by Black residents and limiting early voting. Four years later, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit blocked components of a North Carolina voting law that singled out Black voters in the state, stating that it “target[ed] African-Americans with almost surgical precision.”
Legal proceedings about racially motivated barriers in voting have been ongoing since, including arguments about redistricting. In 2025, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais rendered gerrymandering legal. This led two North Carolinian residents to drop their appeal to the Supreme Court after years of pushing the courts to reconsider district lines in favor of the Voting Rights Act. After the latest ruling, Rep. Rodney Pierce told Daily Tar Heels that the decision “left no path open to protect the voting rights of Black citizens in the state.”
Fuller is concerned that the latest proposed amendment is yet another attempt at creating additional barriers for historically marginalized populations.
“[It would] cement a part of our law that tends to suppress voter turnout and votes, particularly in vulnerable communities, and would do so even more egregiously than it already does,” Fuller says.
Resources for eligible voters
According to 2024 research led by the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement at the University of Maryland, almost 21 million US citizens of voting age lack a valid driver’s license. The Center’s research also reveals that almost 29 million voting-aged US citizens have a valid license that does not match their current address or name, which means they couldn’t use it to verify their ballots. These findings support Fuller’s concerns surrounding racial inequities, as both Black and Hispanic voters are more likely to be without a valid license than their counterparts.
“That’s the point,” Fuller says. “This is just doubling down, making it harder for those folks when they have already, by registering, proven that they are who they say they are.”
For those eligible to vote but without valid photo identification, Fuller encourages them to visit their County Board of Elections, a seldom used resource that is less cumbersome than securing a DMV appointment. He also suggests using VoteRiders for voters who need extra support procuring their IDs and transportation to their polling place.
Low on supporting data
Myths surrounding voter fraud fuel proposed amendments like this one, bolstering the idea that additional requirements would ensure voting accuracy. Yet Rubin says voting fraud in North Carolina is almost non-existent, and a 2024 social media campaign dedicated to busting voting myths, led by the North Carolina Board of Elections, confirms it.
“There is not an ‘election integrity’ reason to require a photo ID, especially not through a constitutional amendment,” argues Fuller. Instead, what is needed is voter education across party lines.
“It is cliche, and I hear it a lot, especially from my elders,” says Fuller. “But it is true: They would not be trying so hard to take away your vote if it didn’t threaten their power. They just wouldn’t.”
