Voter ID took hold in the North Carolina primary. But challenges remain for the fall election

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Nearly everyone who voted in person in last month’s North Carolina’s primary showed a qualifying photo identification, a top election official told legislators Wednesday. But it’s unknown how many didn’t bother trying to vote in person or by mail because they lacked an ID, even with options to cast ballots without one.

In all, 1.8 million people voted in the March 5 primary, which marked the first statewide election that the photo ID mandate approved in 2018 by the Republican-controlled General Assembly was actually implemented. Legal challenges — one still pending — had delayed its initiation until smaller municipal elections held last fall.

A state board presentation to a General Assembly elections oversight committee said over 99.9% of in-person voters during early voting or on the primary day showed a valid photo ID. That essentially matches the same percentage among those who voted in person during three tranches of the city elections.

The state board spent roughly $100,000 for an advertising campaign leading to the primary focused on urging people who had qualifying IDs to bring it with them to vote in person. Poll workers handled much of the work to carry out the new rules.

“I commend the county boards of elections and how they handled this rollout. We saw good numbers for the municipal and good numbers for the primary,” state elections Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell told lawmakers.

Someone who can’t show a qualifying ID casts a provisional ballot. That person then must either fill out an ID exception form or return to their county board office with their ID before the county canvass for their ballot to count. People casting traditional absentee ballots also are asked to insert an ID