Voter ID and High Turnout in North Carolina

North Carolina has finished tallying its votes, and an impressive 70 percent of the eligible population cast a ballot. This currently represents the 11th best turnout; however, some states are still counting their ballots.

The 2024 election was North Carolina’s first general election under its new voter identification (ID) rules implemented after a decade of legal controversy. The Voter Information Verification Act passed in 2013, triggering a lawsuit by the North Carolina NAACP. A federal appeals court struck down the law after determining that the state legislature had acted with the intent to suppress Black voters.

In response, North Carolina voters approved a state constitutional amendment in 2018 to put voter ID requirements in place—this time with more flexibility. In addition to state-issued IDs, driver’s licenses, and passports, voters could also use a student ID or request a free “voter photo ID card” from their local election board. The law also accounted for the unexpected, allowing individuals without an ID (and with an approved excuse) to complete an ID exception form in order to vote—a key provision in this election cycle, given the destruction to western North Carolina caused by Hurricane Helene. Like the 2013 voter ID legislation, the amendment faced years of litigation blocking its implementation before ultimately taking effect in 2023 after a ruling by the state supreme court. 

Now that the 2024 election is over, North Carolina’s turnout data provides a valuable opportunity to evaluate whether voter ID laws function as voter suppression, as many opponents have argued. Past research on the effects of these laws has produced mixed results, and varied requirements make it difficult to draw comparisons between states.

At a macroscopic level, North Carolina’s turnout data shows little impact from the new voter ID law. Voter turnout this year stands out at 70 percent of the eligible population, surpassing the national average of 62 percent and aligning closely with the state’s historical trends. This rate compares favorably to previous presidential election years including 2020 (71 percent), 2016 (65 percent), and 2012 (65 percent).

While the voter ID law could have had a particularly detrimental impact on those who suffered the effects of Hurricane Helene, data shows that impacted counties experienced similar turnout to their unaffected counterparts. For instance, in Buncombe County—the largest county in western North Carolina—turnout among registered voters (74 percent) fell just shy of 2020 (78 percent) and exceeded 2016 (71 percent) despite lasting effects from the storm.

Beyond the quantitative analysis, no major issues surrounding the ID requirement were reported on the ground. Prior to the election, a North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled that digital IDs would not count as acceptable forms of identification, creating an obstacle for students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where the standard student identification is digital. However, in early October, the university announced it would provide physical ID cards to students who requested them.

Ultimately, despite a natural disaster and after years of back-and-forth on how to craft voter identification law, there is no indication that North Carolina’s new voter ID requirements negatively impacted turnout.