Word on the street: UNC students react to North Carolina voter ID laws

Municipal elections are on Nov. 7 for Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough, and voters will be asked to show a photo ID at the polls. Valid photo IDs include a driver's license, UNC One Card, a state-issued ID from the North Carolina DMV or a U.S. passport.

In April, the N.C. Supreme Court overturned a previous decision that said voter ID laws disproportionately disenfranchise Black voters, allowing voter ID laws in the state to go into effect.

Staff writer Lauren Zola asked students what they thought about the voting laws that mandate a photo ID.

Nydia Clifton, UNC junior

"I feel like it is necessary just to make sure that you are a U.S. citizen and that you have the proper credentials because not everybody is qualified to vote."

"I do feel like it is important because most people have voter IDs anyway."

Hannah Swanton, UNC senior

"I think requiring a form of ID to vote is an accessibility issue, so I'm against it."

"I think the issue with needing identification is that not everybody has a passport, not everybody has a license. And I know that you can get a state-issued ID that doesn't have to be either of those things. But it does cost money. And it does mean that you have to get off of work and go to the DMV or go to a government agency. I think it's an accessibility issue just in terms of cost and then also time."

Diya Mool, UNC first-year

"I think it should be necessary for voting because your vote should matter, and the way that you would get that to matter is if you were actually the person on your ID.”

Allison McKay, UNC first-year

"There's definitely a certain number of Black voters who don't have a valid photo ID, and people who are homeless or that sort of thing can't have a valid ID, so that inhibits them from voting.”

"I do think [UNC OneCards should be an acceptable ID] because it gives a lot of students a way to vote because some students still don't have their driver's license, and stuff like that. This is kind of a way for them to participate in voting without having to go through a whole process of getting valid ID through the DMV or something."

Jeremiah Higginbotham, UNC senior

"Statistically, it hasn't really stopped anything because if people want to do it, they can vote fraudulently anyways."

"It can actually harm populations from voting, it can stop them from voting if they wanted to."

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