You’ve got to fight for your right to vote.
On Tuesday, the North Carolina State Board of Elections voted 3-2 in favor of allowing the mobile UNC One Card to qualify as voter ID, coming as the state grapples with a recent voter photo ID mandate. This mandate, at best, intends to assure the security and identity of voting processes. At its worst, it is yet another obstacle disenfranchised voters will have to hurdle to exercise their civic duty.
The board has approved over 100 employee and student IDs to qualify, including the physical NC State One Card and North Carolina Central’s Eagle Card. The approval of the mobile One Card, as voted by a slim Democratic majority, is the first virtual ID in the state that can be shown from your phone’s wallet app.
This is a rare win for voting accessibility for students. Now, many students whose registration is approved for North Carolina, but who lack an up-to-date passport or driver’s license, can certify their identity with a flash of that lovely Carolina Blue card.
Amidst a slew of policies that state Republicans have enacted or pushed to hinder left-leaning populations from voting easily, this is a small victory for accessibility. Many liberal voices criticize those voter ID laws for making it unjustly difficult for citizens who are experiencing poverty, unemployment or homelessness to successfully cast their ballot. Even the conservative majority North Carolina Supreme Court has forced down multiple attempts at voter ID laws in the past.
Many students face unnecessary hurdles to voting due to their changing residential status. Students change their registration to their college residence and may never receive a new driver’s license or official identity documentation to prove it. The approval of the University One Card as voter ID assuages this issue.
This approval of the mobile One Card is a great relief to the civic-minded students who may lose their physical One Card in the Lenoir Dining Hall lunch rush or any other number of ways a piece of plastic can be lost. Because, unlike your physical One Card, you can’t easily lose your digital ID.
However, Republican opposition to the measure has threatened a legal challenge to this ID’s approved status. This legal challenge could completely negate the mobile One Card’s approval and would further hinder students from voting. Ease of access is everything, especially as young voters are increasingly disillusioned with the political system. Our generation has short attention spans and even shorter patience for political deceit. Many wonder if our vote is worth anything at all.
There are 40 million Americans aged 18-25 eligible to vote this cycle — more than enough to make a big impact. Your vote is power. The youth vote can make major waves, and it’s surely worth fighting for.
