NC State Board of Elections reveals plan to fix 98,000 voter registrations

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – On Monday, the North Carolina State Board of Elections is once again deciding how to verify nearly tens of thousands of voter registrations in the state.

The 98,000 voter registrations are being questioned because they are missing some pieces of information, in most cases, a Social Security number or a driver’s license number.

“There are cases where, say a woman registered at 18, got married at 32, changes her name, re-registers, and we know that person is that person because she validated 20 years ago when she was 18, but now it’s not validating with her new name,” Brian LiVecchi, chief of staff for the board, said.

The board is now putting more responsibility on county boards of elections to first make sure there are no data entry mistakes with these voters. Then, county boards will need to try and verify old driver’s license numbers or social security numbers. If there’s still missing information, voters will be notified.

“Voters without a validated driver’s license or social, twice a year, they would get letters from the county board letting them know your number’s not validated,” Adam Steele, general counsel for the board, said.

If voters don’t verify their information, they will need to cast a provisional ballot. Board members approved the plan unanimously, but some do disagree on concerns around non-citizens voting.

“Our responsibility as the board of elections is for fair and honest elections by people that are citizens of the United States, citizens of North Carolina, and are therefore qualified to vote if they request it,” Board member Robert Rucho said.

“Right now, what I’m hearing from you is there’s this huge concern that people’s votes are being undermined by people who shouldn’t be able to vote, and I just haven’t seen that in my six years,” Board member Jeff Carmon said.

Board members say this plan follows current federal and state laws, but they did float the idea of the General Assembly changing voting laws in the future.