<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Posted by the News& Observer today <div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div style="caret-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); color: rgb(33, 33, 33); font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;" class=""><b class=""> JULI LEONARD <a href="mailto:jleonard@newsobserver.com" title="mailto:jleonard@newsobserver.com" style="color: rgb(0, 120, 215);" class="">jleonard@newsobserver.com</a> Voters can now get free IDs at their local county board of elections to comply with the state’s new voter ID requirement. The North Carolina State Board of Elections announced Wednesday that registered voters who don’t currently have an acceptable ID, like a driver’s license, can now get a free ID to be used for voting. “State Board staff has worked diligently with the county boards of elections over the past couple of months to get the necessary software and hardware in place for ID printing,” Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board, said. The free IDs will be available during business hours any time until the last day of early voting through Election Day. TOP VIDEOS Voters will need to provide their name, date of birth, the last four digits of their Social Security number and have their photo taken. The release said that most counties will be able to provide the ID on the spot, though some counties may need to mail the card later. The IDs will be valid for 10 years. The state’s election administration officials have been working to comply with a landmark ruling from the state Supreme Court in April that reinstated voter ID requirements in North Carolina. The court’s former Democratic majority had initially struck the requirement down, saying it was racially discriminatory. But after a new Republican majority took office, this decision was overturned. Since then, the State Board has developed rules around the implementation of voter ID and requested extra funds from the legislature to train poll workers and inform voters of the change. With budget negotiations ongoing, no money has been allocated for this purpose yet. This story was originally published August 2, 2023, 1:43 PM.</b></div></div><div class=""><b class=""><br class=""></b></div><div class=""><b class=""><br class=""></b></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><b class=""><br class=""></b></div></body></html>