Six Months In, NCSBE Executive Director Sam Hayes Highlights Accomplishments
This week, the North Carolina Board of Elections Executive Director highlighted several accomplishments by the agency since he assumed the role six months ago. Hayes was appointed by the Republican-controlled Board of Elections, after an N.C. Court of Appeals Court decision that dismissed a partisan lawsuit. Hayes replaced Karen Brinson Bell who made headlines for misleading the General Assembly.
“We are very proud of the accomplishments we have worked towards achieving in these first six months and we look ahead to the next six months with great enthusiasm. We have many projects to tackle,” Director Hayes said.
Here are the projects accomplished by the State Board of Elections under Hayes leadership.
Registration Repair Project: On July 17, the State Board launched the Registration Repair Project to collect identification numbers—driver’s license or DMV-issued ID numbers, or the last four digits of Social Security numbers—from registered voters missing this information in the statewide voter database. These numbers are required to verify a registrant’s identity under state and federal law. The project replaced an earlier voter registration form that caused confusion for some voters about whether this information was required. In mid-August, the State Board sent letters to roughly 82,000 voters on the Registration Repair List who had not yet provided the required information.
No voters were removed from the rolls as part of this project.
HAVA Lawsuit Settlement: On September 9, the State Board reached a legal settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in United States of America v. North Carolina State Board of Elections. The agreement formally recognizes the Registration Repair Project as the state’s method for ensuring compliance with federal and state voter registration laws while minimizing inconvenience to affected voters.
The Board unanimously approved the project on June 24.
SEIMS Modernization: On October 31, the State Board issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input from citizens and vendors on replacing the state’s decades-old election management systems. The current Statewide Elections Information Management System (SEIMS), developed in 1998, is used daily by the State Board and all 100 county boards for voter registration, election management, list maintenance, and reporting results.
Because current systems will no longer be supported within two years, the RFI will help identify market options and guide development of a formal Request for Proposal.
Successful 2025 Municipal Elections: On November 4, the State Board administered highly successful municipal elections in 88 counties and 447 municipalities, with no major incidents reported. More than 19% of eligible voters participated. Early voting and absentee-by-mail participation were strong: nearly 224,000 ballots had been accepted by county boards as of the Monday before Election Day. In total, voters cast over 700,000 ballots in the November election and more than 800,000 ballots across all 2025 municipal contests.
Agency Reorganization: Director Hayes and Chief of Staff Brian LiVecchi have begun reorganizing the agency to improve workflow, clarify reporting structures, and strengthen leadership capacity. Key leadership additions and promotions include roles in General Counsel, Communications, Elections Administration, Campaign Finance, and Legislative Affairs.
Campaign Finance Improvements: Under Director Hayes, Campaign Finance has been reestablished as its own section to provide stronger operational support. The campaign finance reporting system—developed in the early 2000s and maintained by the State Board—continues to serve as the platform for filing required disclosures and providing public access to campaign finance data.
