New voter identification laws are in effect for the 2016 elections, meaning voters should be prepared to show a valid form of photo identification at the polls during the March 15 primary election.

In an unexpected turn of events, the North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation last Thursday that will allow people to cast a ballot in 2016 even if they don’t have an acceptable form of identification. 

By Katie Reeder • SMN Intern 

It may be too late to change North Carolina’s new voting laws, but it’s not too late to have a say in how those laws are going to be implemented.

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• Be prepared at the polls
• WCU students react to NC voting law changes

Even though members of local NAACP chapters are not happy with North Carolina’s new voting laws pushed through by a Republican-led General Assembly in 2013, they now want to focus on how those laws may be implemented.

The days of simply walking into a polling place and casting a ballot are over.

A state bill mandating that voters show identification to cast a ballot has split opinions down the middle, with Republicans on one side and Democrats on the other.