A North Carolina trial judge has refused to block students and employees at the state’s flagship public university from being able to show a digital identification to comply with a largely new photo I

Over 45,000 students and faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will be able to use their digital university ID to vote after a judge ruled that state law doesn't specify physical ID must be used.

The North Carolina Supreme Court, the highest court in the state, takes up appealed cases from lower state courts, having the final say on matters. There are seven total justices, with one being the chief justice, and one of those seats is up for grabs this fall.

The decision set off a scramble among election officials, who must replace ballots just as they were about to be sent out in the swing state

The North Carolina Court of Appeals handles cases appealed by lower state courts and deals only with whether the previous trials were conducted in line with the law. There are 15 judges who serve on the court of appeals with three open seats this November. Terms for these judges last eight years.

A Wake County Superior Court judge denied the North Carolina Republican Party's request to block use of the UNC Mobile One Card as a form of voter ID.