GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1989

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 1215

Short Title:  Mandatory Voter ID.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representatives Justus; Wood and Bowman.
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Referred to:  Judiciary.
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April 12, 1989

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO REQUIRE IDENTIFICATION OF VOTERS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 163-67(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	With the approval of the board of county commissioners, the county board of elections may issue to each voter in the county a voter registration card. At a minimum, the voter registration card shall:
(1)	List the voter's name, address and polling place;
(2)	Contain the address and telephone number of the county board of elections, along with blanks to report a change of address within the county; and
(3)	Be wallet size.
No voter registration card may be issued by a county board of elections unless the State Board of Elections has approved the format of the card.
If a county board of elections issues voter registration cards, when a voter reports a change of address within the county or when the polling place is changed, the county board of elections shall issue a replacement card to the voter. If a voter returns the card, reporting a change of address within the county, and if that card is signed by the voter, it shall be accepted as a written address change report under G.S. 163-72.2.
The card shall be evidence of registration but shall not preclude a challenge as permitted by law. Except as provided by G.S. 163-150(a), no county board of elections or municipal board of elections may require that a voter registration card be displayed in order to vote. This subsection does not change voting procedures."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 163-150(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Checking Registration. – A person seeking to vote shall enter the voting enclosure at the voting place through the appropriate entrance and shall at once state his name and place of residence to one of the judges of election.  Unless the voter is personally known by the registrar, one of the judges of election, or one of the observers appointed under G.S. 163-45, in order to vote a voter must show one of the following types of identification:
(1)	A voter registration card issued under G.S. 163-67(e) in a county which issues such cards;
(2)	A driver's license;
(3)	A special identification card issued under G.S. 20-37.7;
(4)	A passport; or
(5)	A social security card and one other type of identification showing the name and a picture of the voter.
In a primary election, the voter shall also state the political party with which he affiliates and in whose primary he desires to vote, or if the voter is an unaffiliated voter permitted to vote in the primary of a particular party under G.S. 163-74(a1), the voter shall state the name of the authorizing political party in whose primary he wishes to vote.  The judge to whom the voter gives this information shall announce the name and residence of the voter in a distinct tone of voice.  After examining the precinct registration records, the registrar shall state whether the person seeking to vote is duly registered."
Sec. 3.  This act shall become effective with respect to elections held on or after January 1, 1990.