A Republican lawsuit challenging the voter registration practices of the North Carolina State Board of Elections has been moved from state court to federal court. The suit alleges that the elections board failed to require identification from prospective voters to prove citizenship, allowing noncitizens to potentially vote. The case now sits with US District Judge Terrence Boyle.
The complaint alleges violations of the Help America Vote Act and claims that the state elections board refused to take certain actions required by federal law. The Republican National Committee and state Republican Party have filed at least four lawsuits against the State Board of Elections in the past month, with this voter registration lawsuit being one of them.
The lawsuit argues that the state board’s voter registration forms failed to collect HAVA-required identification information, leading to the acceptance of registrations from approximately 225,000 voters without the required identification. The board acknowledged the issue and changed the voter registration form moving forward, but did not identify and contact voters whose registrations were improperly accepted.
The board voted against a complaint alleging the verification process for registrants’ identification numbers did not go far enough. The lawsuit asks for a rapid voter removal program, which the elections board spokesman Patrick Gannon stated violates federal law. Gannon also stated that the lawsuit misunderstands the data and exaggerates the problems with voter registrations. The case highlights the ongoing legal battles over voter registration practices in North Carolina.
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