North Carolina Board of Elections announces plan to require voters to take an extra step to verify their identity
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Today, the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) unanimously approved a plan to address voter registration records lacking required identification numbers, affecting approximately 194,000 voters statewide.
About 98,000 of these voters (roughly half) will need to provide a driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number to avoid casting provisional ballots in future elections, such as the 2025 municipal elections.
This action responds to a DOJ lawsuit filed in May 2025, alleging the state violated the Help America Vote Act by failing to collect these IDs. The lawsuit was noteworthy because it was filed just weeks after Republicans gained control of the state elections board away from the NC Democrat governor after years of failed attempts. It gave the power of board appointments to the Republican state auditor. The law was passed late last year, before Republicans lost their supermajority in the Legislature, which they used to override the governor’s veto.
Republicans on the board said the actions were needed to ensure the state’s voter lists were accurate and that voters' requests were reasonable to comply with federal law. The plan involves sending mailers to affected voters, costing an estimated $300,000 to $450,000. State GOP officials praised the move, saying this ensures compliance with federal law and enhances election integrity!
“The State Board of Elections is acting to correct numerous errors which have been identified for years as issues,” North Carolina GOP Chairman Jason Simmons said in a statement. “This is an encouraging step toward restoring trust in state elections.”
The NCSBE has been addressing several identified issues to improve election integrity, including Voter List Maintenance. Since January 2023, NC county boards have removed over 747,000 ineligible voter records from the rolls, averaging 1,200 daily removals. This process targets records of voters who moved, died, or are otherwise ineligible, ensuring eligible voters are not removed. Automated data checks and training sessions have been implemented to correct data entry errors and inaccuracies.
A very big thank you to the NCSBE! These prudent steps, including enhanced voter roll accuracy and legal compliance, correct longstanding issues and help restore trust in elections.
Bill Bruch
Bill Bruch is the WA State GOP Election Integrity Committee Chairman (5th year), WAGOP Executive Board Member (5th Year), Skagit County GOP Chairman (9th year), Citizen Journalist, Blogger, Business Owner, 2020 WA State House Representative Candidate, Former Council Member, and WA State 2016 and 2024 RNC National Convention Delegate.
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