U.S. Sues North Carolina Over Voter Registration Failures Ahead of Elections

U.S. Sues North Carolina Over Voter Registration Failures Ahead of Elections

Last Updated May - 28 - 2025, 12:51 PM | Source : Fela News

The U.S. Justice Department has sued North Carolina's election board, alleging violations of federal law for missing voter ID data. The lawsuit demands urgent c

On Tuesday, May 27, 2025, the Trump administration's Justice Department filed a lawsuit against North Carolina’s election board, accusing it of breaching federal law by failing to ensure that voter registration records include required identification numbers. The suit, filed in federal court, seeks a judicial order compelling state officials to quickly implement a system to collect those missing identifiers.

The Justice Department argues that the State and the board are in violation of the 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA), after distributing a voter registration form that did not clearly inform applicants they must provide either a driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number. For applicants lacking both, the state is required to assign a unique identifier.

This issue was first acknowledged by the prior Democratic-led election board in late 2023 after a voter complaint. While the form was updated, the board opted not to reach out to voters registered since 2004 to correct missing information ahead of the 2024 elections.

According to the lawsuit, the board suggested these missing identifiers would be collected as voters showed up at polling places, though it's uncertain how many records are still incomplete.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division attorneys argue that this passive approach is inadequate. They are urging a judge to require the board to draft a plan within 30 days to identify affected voters, collect the missing information, and update the digital voter roll accordingly.

The case follows similar concerns raised by the Republican Party and a GOP candidate who flagged the issue ahead of the 2024 elections.

The lawsuit also cites former President Donald Trump’s March executive order aimed at combating voter fraud and enhancing election security.

“Maintaining accurate voter rolls is essential to ensure fair and lawful elections in North Carolina,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in a statement. “The DOJ will act against any jurisdiction violating federal election laws by maintaining flawed registration lists.”

A recent shift in the board's makeup may influence how the lawsuit unfolds. After a GOP-backed law transferred appointment power from the Democratic governor to Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek, the board flipped from a 3-2 Democratic to a 3-2 Republican majority.

Executive Director Sam Hayes acknowledged the issue, saying the lawsuit is under review but confirmed that the lack of HAVA-required data had long been known. “I am committed to bringing the state into compliance,” he said.

North Carolina’s local elections are set to begin in September. The GOP had previously estimated that around 225,000 voters might have missing identifiers but failed to convince judges to intervene ahead of the 2024 election.

Following Election Day, the issue resurfaced in legal challenges from a Republican Supreme Court candidate who contested around 60,000 ballots based on missing data. However, the election board revealed that nearly half of those voters did provide valid identifiers.

Though appellate courts criticized the board’s management of the issue, they ultimately upheld the inclusion of the disputed ballots. In that race, Democratic Justice Allison Riggs narrowly defeated Republican Jefferson Griffin by just 734 votes out of more than 5.5 million cast.

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