I pity anyone who doesn’t have the time to sit and wait at the driver’s license office, located at 290 Lee Road in Haywood County.

Having just bought a house in Haywood County, my wife and I wanted to make sure our licenses had our new address. She went to the Driver’s License office on Thursday, to be told there was a three-hour wait. One of the staff told her she could change her address online.

I tried that Thursday afternoon. There is no obvious page at the DMV website for updating your address, but wording suggested I try the “request a duplicate” page.

I filled out the information and hit enter. I got an error message, saying I had to do this in person or could call DMV in Raleigh at 919.715.7000.

Well, that didn’t work. The automated answering system at DMV provided a list of options — for appointments press 1, for driving records press 2, regarding suspensions press 3, and on and on. None of the options were for trying the update your address or even to speak with a human.

I dialed 1, just to see if I could schedule an appointment. The response? “We are sorry but we are experiencing a heavy volume of calls, and cannot provide you with personal service. We request that you call us back at a later time” or use the website.

Use the website that doesn’t work.

On Friday, just to see if anything had changed, I went to the Driver’s License office. The parking lot was full, and when I stepped in I saw that all the seats were filled and a line was formed in the waiting room. 

I went back to the DMV website to search further. Surely there was an answer. What did I find? Directions to do what had just failed: “Individuals with a valid North Carolina license or ID who only need to change their mailing address should call NCDMV customer service at 919.715.7000 or visit an NCDMV driver (cq) license office.”

I tried once again on the website, and found out about a form you mail in with a change of address. I searched and found Form MVR/24A, titled “Notice of Change of Address Required Within 60 Days.”

The form needed info on our vehicle, new address, license numbers, names, etc., and at the bottom said: “Please mail to: NC Division of Motor Vehicles” with the Raleigh address.

So I filled it out and sent it off.

Who knows, maybe that will work.

All this made me wonder if the lines and “heavy volume of calls” can be blamed on the upcoming election. Do we need a photo ID to vote?

No.

The State Board of Elections website says in plain and unambiguous language: “The requirement to show a photo ID for voting and other associated laws has been struck down by a Federal court. Photo ID is not required to vote.”

The deadline to register to vote in North Carolina is 25 days before the date of an election, and if you register in that manner, no ID is required to vote on Election Day.

You can register and vote at the same time during the one-stop early voting period, but that does require some sort of government-issued photo ID, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government document showing your name and current address.

College students registering and voting at one-stop where they go to school may supply a school-issued photo ID and a statement from the college stating that they reside in campus housing.

So, why the long lines at DMV? Who knows.

(Jonathan Austin is the managing editor of Smoky Mountain Living magazine (www.smliv.com) and can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)