Make sure your vote counts. Absentee ballots now require copy of photo ID

By Howard Pearre Voting absentee by mail is an option available to any North Carolina citizen. You do not need a reason to vote absentee other than simply preferring to vote this way. And, if you request an absentee ballot and later decide you’d rather vote in person on primary election day, March 5, or during the early voting period, Feb. 15 – March 2, you can simply destroy the absentee ballot and vote in person.  There are two important changes to the mail-in absentee voting procedure from the election in 2022.  One, just as you now have to show a photo ID to vote in person, you must include a copy of a photo ID (or ID Exception Form) with your absentee ballot. Most people can do this by sending in a copy of their drivers license, but a “non-operator ID” from the Department of Motor Vehicles or a free voter ID issued by the county board of elections, are among the other types of ID that are acceptable. The list of approved photo IDs can be found at the state board of elections’ website, NCSBE.gov.  On that home page, do a search for ACCEPTABLE IDs Two, there is...