North Carolina voter ID challenge is really just about voter suppression 

The recent lawsuit brought against the University of North Carolina by the state Republican Party and other conservative groups over its voter identification procedures is built on shaky ground. At its core, this action lacks a strong foundation, both in terms of the law and common sense.  

The university, in my view, has done everything right. UNC’s efforts to issue voter IDs to its students not only comply with the law but also reflect a thoughtful approach to ensuring voter access, especially for young people, many of whom may not have other forms of ID. 

Let’s start with the key issue: compliance with North Carolina’s voter ID law.  

In 2018, the state passed a constitutional amendment requiring voters to present identification at the polls. The General Assembly later outlined what forms of ID would be acceptable. It wisely included student IDs from state universities, provided they met certain security standards. UNC followed that law to the letter by implementing a process to issue IDs that would allow students — many of whom are first-time voters — to exercise their fundamental right to vote.

The claim that UNC’s process is legally inadequate simply doesn’t hold water. The university, like other schools in the state, established a process for issuing voter IDs with the express goal of making voting more accessible. It’s not as though UNC is handing out these IDs at random or without proper verification.

UNC’s procedures for distributing these IDs follow the law’s intent of making sure eligible students can vote. If there are any minor imperfections in the system, they don’t rise to the level of fraud or constitutional violations, as the lawsuit suggests.  

The North Carolina GOP’s lawsuit is, rather, an attempt to turn a legitimate effort to increase voter participation into a manufactured crisis. The complaint focuses heavily on the idea that UNC’s method of verifying student identities isn’t rigorous enough, and that the university-issued IDs lack sufficient security features to prevent fraud.

But if you peel back the layers, this lawsuit isn’t about election integrity at all — it’s about voter suppression. It’s a deliberate move to target a student population that historically leans liberal, all under the guise of “security concerns.” 

The argument that UNC’s IDs are somehow more vulnerable to tampering than other accepted forms of identification is unconvincing. If state Republicans were genuinely concerned about election security, they would be pushing for better election infrastructure across the board, not zeroing in on student IDs. Instead, they’re using the specter of voter fraud — something that has been repeatedly debunked in the academic and legal arenas — as a tool to limit the voting power of young people.

The reality is that voter fraud in the U.S., and specifically in North Carolina, is exceedingly rare. The notion that UNC’s student IDs are opening the door to widespread voter fraud is a fantasy designed to justify a partisan agenda. 

From a legal perspective, the university’s compliance with the voter ID law is solid. The law grants universities the ability to issue IDs, and UNC has taken care to meet the required standards. The Republicans’ claim that UNC is acting with leniency or disregarding the law ignores the fact that the university’s process is aligned with the very intent of the legislation: to make voting accessible while maintaining security. If anything, UNC’s approach should be seen as a model for how universities can encourage civic engagement among students. We should be celebrating the school’s efforts to get more students involved in the democratic process, not tearing it down with baseless lawsuits. 

At its core, this case taps into the broader national debate around voter ID laws, which have been used by conservative lawmakers as a tool to suppress the votes of historically marginalized groups, including young voters, people of color and low-income individuals. The attack on UNC’s voter ID process is just the latest chapter in this disturbing trend.  

The court, if it acts rationally, should dismiss this lawsuit or, at most, ask for minor adjustments in UNC’s ID-issuing process. There’s no reason to believe the university’s procedures are undermining the integrity of elections. In fact, UNC is doing precisely what Republicans around the country say they want — ensuring that people have state-issued ID in order to vote.  

In the end, this case is unlikely to give North Carolina Republicans the drastic resolution they’re hoping for. If the court does find that UNC’s procedures need tweaking, it will likely be something as simple as adding extra documentation or security features to the IDs. But UNC will continue to issue voter IDs, and students will continue to vote.

This lawsuit is nothing more than a political stunt, and it should be treated as such. The university has done everything right, and no amount of legal posturing will change that fact. 

Aron Solomon is the chief strategy officer for Amplify. He has taught entrepreneurship at McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania.