North Carolina to send mailers to about 200,000 voters asking for missing registration info

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina election officials will send mailers to about 200,000 voters asking them to provide information missing from their state registration records, seeking to address a Republican concern raised during a protracted legal fight over a state Supreme Court seat and a recent U.S. Justice Department lawsuit.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections voted unanimously Tuesday to begin contacting voters whose records lack a driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number. Last month, the Justice Department sued state election officials, alleging the board had violated federal law by failing to collect the identifying information.

The lawsuit was noteworthy because it was filed just weeks after Republicans wrested control of the state elections board away from the state’s Democratic governor after years of failed attempts and gave the power of board appointments to the state auditor, a Republican. The law was passed late last year, before Republicans lost their supermajority in the Legislature, which they used to override the governor’s veto.

The Justice Department sought to force the state board to create a prompt method to obtain the identifying information.

Sam Hayes, the board’s new executive director, told board members on Tuesday that the department had “tentatively signed off” on the plan, which involves sending up to three mailers to voters that will include a self-addressed, postage-prepaid return envelope with a form for collecting the information.

“The goal here is to obtain that information as efficiently as possible and satisfy the outstanding litigation here and, of course, comport with federal law,” Hayes said.

The previous state board had acknowledged the issue and updated the registration form to make it clear that either a driver’s license number or, if a voter didn’t have a driver’s license, the last four digits of a Social Security number were required. But it decided it was not going to ask voters to provide the information, pointing to the state’s voter ID law which confirms a voter’s identity.

About half the 200,000 affected voters would be limited to casting provisional ballots until they provide the information to the state, Hayes said. The first two mailers combined could cost between $300,000 and $450,000, according to preliminary estimates.

Jeff Carmon, one of two Democrats on the five-member board, said he would support the proposal despite concerns the board was requiring voters to act to ensure they can continue to vote.

“It’s hard to understand starvation if you’ve never felt the pangs of hunger,” Carmon said. “It’s the same situation with voting obstacles. Your perspective of an obstacle may not be the same as someone who’s consistently had their identity and their validity questioned.”

Republicans on the board said the actions were needed to ensure the state’s voter lists were accurate and that the request of voters was reasonable to comply with federal law. State GOP officials praised the move.

“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.”

Also Tuesday, the state’s 100 county election boards were reconstituted under the same law passed by GOP lawmakers that changed the appointment process for the state board. The state board, as required previously, appointed four of the five members for each county board with an even split between the two major political parties.

But instead of the Democratic governor appointing the fifth person, who serves as chair, State Auditor Dave Boliek made the chair selections Tuesday. Like the state board, the appointment changes were expected to give Republicans 3-2 majorities on county boards as well.

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Cassidy reported from Atlanta.