North Carolina voters approve constitutional amendment requiring photo ID for mail-in ballots

North Carolinians are projected to approve a constitutional amendment requiring that all voters in the state show photo ID to cast a ballot, according to Decision Desk HQ.

The Require Photo Identification Amendment proposed changing the North Carolina Constitution to require all voters in the state to present an ID, regardless of whether they are casting a ballot in person or not.

The amendment’s passage represents a win for state Republicans, who backed uniform rules for in-person voters and those who cast their ballot by mail.

It also marks a loss for the state Democratic Party, which cited concerns about the effects of a mail-in photo ID requirement on military members, students, rural residents and the elderly in advocating against the amendment.

North Carolina voters already have to show identification when they cast a ballot in person or by mail. The amendment’s passage, however, enshrines the requirement in the state constitution, making it more difficult for future state lawmakers to overturn it.

Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly approved the amendment’s addition to this year’s ballot in December 2024. Voters in North Carolina previously amended the state constitution in 2018 to require in-person voters to show photo ID at the polls.