The Center for Election Confidence (CEC) submitted comments to the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) concerning proposed amendments to the State’s photographic-identification rules for in-person and absentee voting.

CEC supports the Board’s effort to align the rules with current statutory deadlines, reorder the provisional-voting options to track North Carolina law more closely, and replace a unanimity requirement with a majority-vote standard for county-board findings that an exception affidavit is false. A single board member should not be able to prevent enforcement of the photo-ID requirement when a majority has specific, fact-based grounds for its decision.

At the same time, CEC emphasized that voter-facing notices should provide the actual calendar date and time by which a voter must present identification or submit cure documentation. “Voters should not have to translate a statutory citation into an election-specific calendar deadline,” CEC explained. County boards should preserve the notice used in each election so candidates, observers, and reviewing authorities can determine whether voters received accurate instructions.

CEC also urged NCSBE to retain strong written-decision safeguards. Any finding that an exception affidavit is false should be based on facts rather than speculation, tied to the statutory exception claimed, and made only after the voter receives notice of the specific grounds and an opportunity to respond. The written decision should identify the evidence considered, whether the voter responded, the board’s vote, and the final disposition of the ballot.

The comments further recommend harmonizing absentee photo-ID procedures with the related absentee-deficiency rules, preserving cure records while protecting sensitive personal information, and clarifying which county-board meeting or deadline controls final absentee decisions.

CEC urged the Board to adopt the amendments with these protections so the photo-ID requirement is enforced consistently while eligible voters receive clear notice and county-board decisions remain transparent and reviewable.