NORTH CAROLINA (WTVD) — The State of North Carolina and the North Carolina State Board of Elections are being sued by the U.S. Justice Department for failure to maintain an accurate voter list. The lawsuit says this is a violation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).
In addition, the lawsuit alleges that North Carolina, in violation of HAVA’s mandate and clear Congressional intent, used a State voter registration form that did not require a voter to provide identifying information such as a driver’s license or the last four digits of a Social Security number.
Voters were then added to the State’s voter registration roll without the required information, and many of these voters remain on the registration rolls without it.
President Trump signed Executive Order 14248 entitled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections’ in March.
“Accurate voter registration rolls are critical to ensure that elections in North Carolina are conducted fairly, accurately, and without fraud,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will not hesitate to file suit against jurisdictions that maintain inaccurate voter registration rolls in violation of federal voting laws.”
Sam Hayes, executive director of the State Board of Elections, provided ABC11 News with this response to the lawsuit:
“I was only recently notified of this action by the United States Department of Justice. We are still reviewing the complaint, but the failure to collect the information required by HAVA has been well documented. Rest assured that I am committed to bringing North Carolina into compliance with federal law.”
The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section enforces the civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the integrity of the vote, including the Voting Rights Act, National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act, and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.
Complaints about possible violations of federal voting rights laws can be submitted through the Civil Rights Division’s website or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931.
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