The state Board of Elections has undertaken an effort to collect driver’s license numbers or partial social security numbers for roughly 103,000 voters whose information is missing from the state’s voter rolls.
“The Registration Repair Project aims to ensure that North Carolina’s voter rolls are as accurate and complete as possible, bring them into compliance with recent state court rulings, and settle a pending lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Justice,” a news release July 18 said.
The Department of Justice alleges that North Carolina violated the Help America Vote Act by using a voter registration form that didn’t require applicants to provide a driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number when registering.
Under federal and state law, when a person registers to vote, they must provide that information, which is then used to verify the person’s identity.
“However, faulty instructions on a voter registration form used in North Carolina for about a decade led some voters to register without providing either number,” the release said. “The voter registration form was corrected in January 2024 to make it clear that one of those numbers is required.”
The state Board of Elections noted that some have inaccurately suggested the effort would remove eligible voters from the rolls.
“Instead,” Sam Hayes, executive director of the elections board, said in the release, “it will result in cleaner, more complete voter rolls and full compliance with state and federal laws.
He said the office has undergone “great lengths” to streamline and make the process transparent. He said BOE expects the list of voters for which the information is needed “will decrease quickly.”
The list of voters — including 100 who live in Cumberland County — is available on the NCBOE website at ncsbe.gov. Users can click the Registration Repair button on the home page and search the database by name, street address, voter registration number or county.
Voters on the Registration Repair list have three options
If you find you’re among the 1.3% of N.C. voters whose records need to be updated, you have three options, according to the NCBOE.
• Submit an updated voter registration form through the DMV’s website at payments.ncdot.gov. Click “Continue as Guest” when asked to log into myNCDMV. There is no fee for this service. Click “Yes” when asked to update your voter information.
• Visit your county board of elections office, and they can help you ensure your registration is complete. You will need to have your driver’s license number or Social Security number with you. The Cumberland County Board of Elections is located in the E. Newton Smith Center at 227 Fountainhead Lane, Suite 101, in Fayetteville. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit the Cumberland County Board of Elections online at cumberlandcountync.gov/elections or call 910-678-7733. The Board of Elections will not request your personal information over the phone.
• In August, the State Board of Elections will mail letters to individuals who remain on the list at the time the mailing is sent. You can fill out the letter and mail it to the county board of elections in the pre-addressed return envelope enclosed with the letter. Postage is provided on the envelope. The Cumberland County Board of Elections mailing address is 227 Fountainhead Lane, Suite 101, Fayetteville, NC 28301.
The NCBOE said that in future elections, if in-person voters are on the list and have not provided the information, they will be required to cast a provisional ballot and provide the information when they vote.
