New rules approved Thursday outline how North Carolina will verify citizenship for all registered voters — and what happens if you get flagged.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections will cross-check all registered voters against a federal database to identify and remove any non-U.S. citizens from the state’s voter rolls.
The board approved new rules on Thursday outlining the steps officials must take before removing any voter.
Voters’ names, dates of birth and the last four digits of their Social Security numbers will be run through a federal immigration database called SAVE — Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements. The State Board recently signed an agreement with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to access the database.
“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,” Sam Hayes, executive director of the State Board of Elections, said. “As noncitizens are removed from the voter list, necessary precautions will be taken to ensure that no eligible voters are affected.”
If a voter is flagged as a potential noncitizen, officials will take several steps before removing them. That includes a secondary check through SAVE and a review of state records. If no proof of citizenship is found, the voter will be notified and given a chance to provide documentation before being removed.
The SBE said election officials do not have evidence that noncitizen voting is a widespread problem, but documented cases exist. An audit after the 2016 general election found 41 ineligible noncitizens voted out of nearly 4.8 million ballots cast.
The new rules now go to the Rules Review Commission for final approval before taking effect.
For the latest breaking news, weather and traffic alerts that impact you from WCNC Charlotte, download the WCNC Charlotte mobile app and enable push notifications.
