Federal court enters consent order, requiring North Carolina to fix inaccurate voter list

NORTH CAROLINA (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) announced on Tuesday that a federal court has entered a consent order over North Carolina’s failure to maintain an accurate voter list, in violation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

This comes after the State Board of Elections reached a legal settlement with the DOJ on Monday over a lawsuit filed on May 27, alleging that the state used a State voter registration form that did not require a voter to provide identifying information such as a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number.

The agreement memorializes the State Board’s Registration Repair Project, which ensures that North Carolina complies with state and federal laws on voter registrations and minimizes inconvenience to the affected voters.

“Even before the U.S. Department of Justice filed this lawsuit, I had made it a priority to come into compliance with the Help America Vote Act and ensure that all individuals on our voter rolls are properly registered,” said Sam Hayes, executive director of the State Board of Elections. “I applaud the 100 county boards of elections and State Board staff, who have worked diligently on this project. In less than three months, we have reduced the number of voters on the registration repair list by 22%. Our plan is working, and this number will continue to drop as more voters become aware of this effort and fix their registrations.”

The bipartisan State Board unanimously approved the Registration Repair Project on June 24. Importantly, no voter is being removed from the voter rolls because of it.

On March 25, President Trump signed an executive order entitled Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections, in order to ensure that elections are held in compliance with federal laws.

This issue surfaced during the months-long fight over a North Carolina State Supreme Court seat, ultimately won by Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs.

When the lawsuit was filed, it was estimated that at least 100,000 voters did not have the required identifying information on North Carolina’s registration rolls. As of early September, that number has decreased.

“Unsuccessful intervenors showed breathtaking hubris when they made alarmist accusations against the Department of Justice, and yet claimed credit for the very relief that the Department actively pursued in the complaint,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Nevertheless, we are pleased with the progress North Carolina has made and will continue to make as it cleans up its registration rolls, as required by federal law.”