North Carolina State Board of Elections Enacts Rules To Identify And Remove Non-Citizens From State Voter Rolls

Yesterday,The Republican-led North Carolina State Board of Elections voted to check the citizenship of all registered voters in North Carolina against a federal database to identify and remove anyone who is not a citizen of the United States from North Carolina’s voter rolls. The three Republicans on the board approved this program, and the two Democrats spoke in opposition to this measure.

“This is another way that we will continue to improve the accuracy of our voter rolls and make sure only eligible voters can cast ballots in this state,” said Sam Hayes, executive director of the State Board of Elections. “As noncitizens are removed from the voter list, necessary precautions will be taken to ensure that no eligible voters are affected.”

Voter information, already provided to the State Board of Elections, will be matched against the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database, which provides information on any possible noncitizens. If any voters are identified by the SAVE as potential noncitizens, election officials will take several steps to further investigate to ensure that only noncitizens are removed from the voter rolls.

Over the last several years, there have been several instances of audits and other data programs identifying noncitizen voters. A 2016 audit identified 41 ineligible noncitizens with legal status who voted in the election. Additionally, on the federal level, a Canadian citizen pleaded guilty to making false claims on the voter registration application.

In response to the decision, NCGOP Chairman Jason Simmons said, "Today's action will strengthen the accuracy of voter rolls and we applaud the State Board's decision to improve confidence in the elections process.”

Former Governor Roy Cooper’s Senate Campaign declined to comment on this story, despite Cooper’s decades of overseeing this process.