by Misty Severi
The Republican National Committee (RNC) on Thursday sued the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) for a fourth time in a month, citing its recent decision that digital student identification cards are adequate for voting in November.
The NCSBE voted on Aug. 20 to allow the use of digital student ID cards generated by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a sufficient form of identification, reversing its previous rule that only physical and plastic photo ID cards could be used. But the lawsuit argues that the new rule circumvents state election law.
The lawsuit was filed jointly by the RNC and the North Carolina Republican Party.
“Once again, the NCSBE has violated the law in ways which undermine the integrity of our elections,” RNC Chairman Michael Whatley (pictured above) said in a statement. “The RNC and NCGOP are committed to fighting these attempts to circumvent the law and protecting the vote for North Carolinians.”
The lawsuit claimed that the new rule could result in “hundreds or thousands of ineligible voters” voting in the upcoming election. The legal complaint is especially important because of North Carolina’s status as one of seven battleground states that could sway the presidential election.
“When the NCSBE majority wrongly approved use of this so-called Digital ID, we said we would not stand for it,” NCGOP Chairman Jason Simmons said. “This lawsuit will ensure that Voter ID laws are faithfully followed in North Carolina elections.”
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Misty Severi is a reporter for Just the News.
Photo “Michael Whatley” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.
