The Trump administration’s Justice Department filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday accusing North Carolina’s election board of violating federal election law by failing to ensure that voter registration applications include required identifying numbers.
The suit seeks a court order compelling state officials to take immediate steps to correct the issue. Local elections start in September.
Why It Matters
The case spotlights how federal and state authorities are intensifying scrutiny of election procedures, particularly in battleground states. With a razor-thin margin deciding a recent state Supreme Court race, the outcome of this legal battle may influence broader political dynamics heading into the 2026 midterm elections.
What to Know
At the heart of the dispute is North Carolina’s alleged noncompliance with the 2003 Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which mandates that new voter registrations include either a driver’s license number, the last four digits of a Social Security number, or a unique state-issued identifier.
The DOJ argues that the state’s registration forms were unclear for years and that the election board failed to act decisively to remedy the issue, potentially jeopardizing the integrity of elections. Though it’s unclear how many records are impacted, prior estimates from GOP lawsuits suggested as many as 225,000.
Although the form was updated in 2023 under a Democrat-controlled board, officials opted not to contact voters who registered without providing the necessary data.
Instead, the board planned to collect missing information at polling places, on an ad hoc basis. The DOJ contends this is insufficient and is asking a judge to force the state to contact affected voters within 30 days and bring their records into compliance.
The issue resurfaced after Election Day through formal protests filed by the Republican candidate for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat, who challenged roughly 60,000 ballots. He argued those votes were cast by individuals whose registration records lacked a required identifying number.
The election board later reported that about half of those voters had, in fact, submitted the necessary information. While state appeals courts criticized the board’s management of registration data, they ultimately ruled that the disputed ballots must be included in the final count.
Democratic Justice Allison Riggs narrowly defeated Republican Jefferson Griffin by just 734 votes out of more than 5.5 million cast.
What People Are Saying
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon emphasized the importance of accurate voter rolls, stating, “Accurate voter registration rolls are critical to ensure that elections in North Carolina are conducted fairly, accurately, and without fraud. 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 election board, acknowledged the issue and signaled openness to resolving it, saying Tuesday that the board is reviewing the lawsuit and that “the failure to collect the information required by HAVA has been well documented.”
What Happens Next
The new Republican-controlled election board, reshaped by a 2024 state law transferring appointment powers from the Democratic governor to GOP State Auditor Dave Boliek, may take a different approach than its predecessor. The lawsuit will now move through the federal courts, with the DOJ urging swift compliance ahead of upcoming elections.
If a judge grants the department’s request, North Carolina will have 30 days to contact affected voters, collect missing identification numbers, and update its electronic registration system.
This article contains reporting by The Associated Press.
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