Groups Warn DOJ Settlement Will Burden Eligible Voters

"WILMINGTON, N.C. (Sept. 9, 2025) - A deal between the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) to settle a lawsuit will force nearly 100,000 registered voters to re-prove their eligibility to vote to ensure future ballots will be counted. Individual North Carolina voters and a coalition of nonpartisan civil rights organizations sought to intervene in the case to bring the voices of impacted voters to the table."

"Under the settlement, voters who were never asked to provide this information will now be compelled to supply a driver's license number or the last four digits of their social security number before or at the next election to have their ballot count in all races; otherwise, it will only count in federal elections. Also, election officials must now fix records for the nearly 100,000 voters who already provided this information but it was missing in the state's database through no fault of their own."

"Individual North Carolina voters Amy Grace Bryant, Rani Dasi, Audrey Meigs, Gabriela Adler-Espino, Larry Repanes, Ralim Allston, Kemeka Sidbury, and Mary Kay Heling, along with the NAACP North Carolina State Conference and the League of Women Voters of North Carolina - represented by attorneys from Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Forward Justice, and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law - filed a motion to intervene early in the case, United States v. N.C. State Board of Elections."

A DOJ settlement with the North Carolina State Board of Elections requires nearly 100,000 registered voters to supply a driver's license number or the last four digits of their social security number before or at the next election for ballots to count in all races. If voters do not provide the information, their ballots will count only in federal contests. Election officials must correct records for nearly 100,000 voters whose identifying information was lost from the state's database through state error. Individual voters and civil rights organizations sought to intervene, fearing eligible voters could be improperly removed from the rolls. The settlement was finalized before the court ruled on intervention.

Read at SCSJ