GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001
H	1
HOUSE BILL 17

 
 
Short Title:	Voter I.D.	()	
Sponsors:	Representatives Justus;  Barnhart, Capps, Carpenter, Davis, Esposito, Hilton, Kiser, McComas, Morris, Rayfield, Walend, and Weatherly.	
Referred to:	Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform.	
January 30, 2001

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require that voters be asked to present identification before being allowed to vote.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  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. 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. 163‑119, 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. A voter shall display one of the following types of valid identification:
(1)	A North Carolina drivers license.
(2)	A special identification card issued under G.S. 20-37.7.
(3)	A passport.
(4)	An identification card issued by the United States Department of Defense.
(5)	A social security card and one other type of identification showing the name and a picture of the voter.
A voter who does not show one of those types of identification shall be allowed to mark a ballot. That ballot shall be sealed in an envelope on which it shall be noted that the voter did not display identification in compliance with the statute. The county board of elections shall determine if the voter is eligible to cast the ballot and, if so, shall count it, and if not, shall not count it. The State Board of Elections shall promulgate rules which shall include instructions for county boards of elections in methods to determine the eligibility of persons who apply to vote without presenting identification.
After examining the precinct registration records, the chief judge shall state whether the person seeking to vote is duly registered."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 163‑227.2(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Not earlier than the first business day after the twenty‑fifth day before an election, in which absentee ballots are authorized, in which a voter seeks to vote and not later than 5:00 p.m. on the Friday prior to that election, the voter shall appear in person only at the office of the county board of elections, except as provided in subsection  (g) of this section. That voter shall enter the voting enclosure at the board office through the appropriate entrance and shall at once state his or her name and place of residence to an authorized member or employee of the board. A voter shall display one of the following types of valid identification:
(1)	A North Carolina drivers license.
(2)	A special identification card issued under G.S. 20-37.7.
(3)	A passport.
(4)	An identification card issued by the United States Department of Defense.
(5)	A social security card and one other type of identification showing the name and a picture of the voter.
A voter who does not show one of those types of identification shall be allowed to mark a ballot. That ballot shall be sealed in an envelope on which it shall be noted that the voter did not display identification in compliance with the statute. The county board of elections shall determine if the voter is eligible to cast the ballot and, if so, shall count it, and if not, shall not count it. The State Board of Elections shall promulgate rules which shall include instructions for county boards of elections in methods to determine the eligibility of persons who apply to vote without presenting identification.
In a primary election, the voter shall also state the political party with which the voter affiliates and in whose primary the voter desires to vote, or if the voter is an unaffiliated voter permitted to vote in the primary of a particular party under G.S. 163‑119, the voter shall state the name of the authorizing political party in whose primary he wishes to vote. The board member or employee 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 registration records, an employee of the board shall state whether the person seeking to vote is duly registered. If the voter is found to be registered that voter may request that the authorized member or employee of the board furnish the voter with an application form as specified in G.S. 163‑227. The voter shall complete the application in the presence of the authorized member or employee of the board, and shall deliver the application to that person."
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective January 1, 2002.