NORTH CAROLINA -- Starting May 1, those who don't have a photo ID will be able to get one for free from their county's board of elections.

• The new Voter ID law enacted at the end of last year requires voters to show IDs when casting a ballot.
• The mandate also includes a wider variety of acceptable IDs, including state-issued IDs and student IDs at state colleges and universities.
• Voters will have until the end of the early voting period to get a photo ID from their county's board of elections office.

That was part of the discussion in Thursday's board of elections meeting.

The new Voter ID law enacted at the end of last year requires voters to show IDs when casting a ballot.

The mandate also includes a wider variety of acceptable IDs, including state-issued IDs and student IDs at state colleges and universities.

"The board is back in place now so we can hear from our staff and the results of their investigation and what they plan to present at the hearing on the 18th of February, and we plan to start that hearing with a presentation from the staff about what they found, and I think you'll find it very interesting," said NC Board of Elections Chair Robert Corkle.

Voters will have until the end of the early voting period to get a photo ID from their county's board of elections office.