After the North Carolina population voted to adopt the Voter ID amendment to the state constitution, the general public voiced their opinions in favor of college IDs as acceptable forms of identification.

In the current draft bill of the law, acceptable forms of identification include a North Carolina driver’s license, a U.S. passport and a North Carolina voter identification card that would be issued for that sole purpose, as well as other forms of identification. Additionally, any college ID issued by the University of North Carolina system would be an acceptable form of identification, but not IDs from private or community colleges in the area. 

At the open forum meeting on Monday held by the joint legislative committees, according to News & Observer, lawmakers were able to ask questions about the viability of community college IDs, the registration process, expiration dates and issuance.

In an interview with Rep. David Lewis, a Republican from Harnett County, by the News & Observer, Lewis said that if community and private college IDs are accepted, a standardized process will be put in place to ensure that obtaining identification is uniform across the board. 

Currently, of the 17 states that have photo voter identification laws, Alabama, Mississippi and Missouri are the only states that allow college issued photo identification cards as proper forms. 

In Student Senate at NC State, there is currently a motion to fast-track a bill that would advocate for the General Assembly to consider permitting NC State students to use their college-issued IDs when voting. 

There is currently no set date when the North Carolina General Assembly will vote on this bill.