North Carolina Republican Party, along with the Republican National Committee, filed a suit against the State Board of Elections on Thursday for allowing UNC-Chapel Hill students to use digital IDs in order to vote. The State Board of Elections approved on August 20 the use of “One Card,” a student ID that is only available for the iPhone and Apple Watch. It allows students to access campus buildings, park in lots, or attend sporting events. The physical form is still available to students who do not have an Apple product, or choose not use it. The Republican Party, however, is contesting the board’s ruling, claiming that the digital ID doesn’t meet the requirements of North Carolina General Assembly law that mandates that a form ID must be one of a list of “tangible items”, from drivers licenses and registered voter ID cards. The Republican Party has a number of reasons why digital IDs shouldn’t be permitted. The screens may be difficult to read. The ID could not be used due to network or hardware issues. This raises questions as to whether laptops and iPads are allowed in polling stations. # If a dispute arises, would the device be in the possession of NCSBE? Republicans claim that the list of possible problems is vast and has yet to be determined. It would be best to leave it to state legislators to take into consideration. The lawsuit claims that “the General Assembly is responsible for passing laws in North Carolina”. State agencies are required to follow the laws, but cannot amend them or diverge from them. The North Carolina legislature has a Republican supermajority. The majority of the board of elections are Democrats. Both Republicans who were on the board opposed the use of digital IDs. They made many of the arguments that the lawyers used during the litigation. The judges are given a large section in the lawsuit that defines “card” and “tangible”. The lawsuit also claims that the board of election knew the One Card was not a valid form of identification, because they had previously prohibited the use of photos or phone pictures of IDs. Karen Brison Bell, the executive director of the board, explained that “This isn’t just a photocopy or a copy” when it decided to accept One Cards. According to The News & Observer, these are IDs that have expiration dates. The lawsuit counters that “…the laws does not permit the NCSBE expand the circumstances as to what is acceptable student identification cards, beyond a physical, tangible item, to only something found on a computer. The lawsuit was filed at Wake County Superior Court. The case is still pending. The North Carolina Supreme Court decided on Monday that the North Carolina State Board of Elections cannot send mail-in votes to military personnel and residents of North Carolina who requested them by Sept. 6. The board will have to reprint ballots in order to remove Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This process could force the board’s mail-in ballot deadline to be missed.