Virginia acquaintances of mine tell me that, when you're white (especially if you "look Republican" whatever that means), the precinct captains routinely give you a pass if you forgot photo ID, if it's expired, it the address doesn't match the one in the voter roll, etc.

But when you're African-American and your precinct happens to be mostly white, forget it. You had better dot every i and cross every t, if you intend to vote. I'm sure it's the same in many other states.

I was at the polls once when an ancient white lady went hobbling up to the poll worker with her walker. She was being steadied by a couple of younger women. She did not have 'valid' ID and was turned away after being offered one of those useless provisional ballots. The women who turned her away wasn't that much younger and was quite distressed. I think the problem is more with the politicians than with the poll workers. Most of them just do what they're told.

An excellent point there with poll workers; they have to tow the line, or they're out.

and presented a North Carolina driver's license, I don't care what I looked like.

I really suspect they'd say, "You have a valid NC driver's license and claim to be a resident of this state? Really?"

Same when I moved to CA from OR. To NY from CA. To TX from NY. Lived in DE for a while, never got a DE driver's license, never voted in DE. Why vote (something that implies a commitment to the future) when I was denying a commitment to the future. Plus I could still vote in my home state of MD. (In other words, why vote for a bond if I wouldn't pay for it, why vote for taxes I'd never pay, why vote for a politician who'd never represent me? No skin in the game, no reason to play.)

As for a poll tax, she had everything already in hand for acquiring a valid VA driver's license or ID. Most states require that DLs be exchanged within so many months of new residency being established. I do hope they had a better example.