Justice Department, NC elections board file joint motion to end voter registration suit

The US Department of Justice and North Carolina State Board of Elections filed a joint motion Wednesday for a court order ending a federal lawsuit over incomplete voter registrations.

The motion filed Wednesday with US Chief District Judge Richard Myers would resolve the complaint the federal government filed against the state elections board in May.

“If approved, the proposed Order would resolve litigation brought by the United States pursuant to its authority to enforce the requirements of Section 303(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (‘HAVA’), with respect to the conduct of elections for Federal office in the State of North Carolina,” according to the document signed by lawyers from the federal Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the North Carolina Department of Justice.

US Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon is listed as the top name on the list of federal government lawyers. Three special deputy attorneys general represent the state.

“State Board Defendants are subject to the requirements of Section 303(a) of HAVA, which requires, among other things, that a voter registration application for an election for Federal office may not be accepted or processed by the State unless it includes a driver’s license number from the applicant, or if the applicant does not have a driver’s license, the last four digits of the applicant’s social security number,” the court filing continued. “If an applicant has not been issued a current and valid driver’s license or social security number, the State must assign a special identifying number for voter registration.”

“State Board Defendants are required to maintain a computerized statewide voter registration list in elections for Federal office that complies with Section 303(a). Plaintiff and State Board Defendants agree that the proposed Order will resolve allegations in the Complaint that the State Board Defendants have violated Section 303(a) of HAVA,” according to the document.

The order would apply to all federal elections administered by the state elections board. It would last through June 30, 2027.

“The proposed Order is fair, adequate, and reasonable because it remedies the allegations in the Complaint,” federal and state government lawyers agreed. “The proposed Order prohibits the State Board Defendants from using a voter registration form or procedures that do not comply with Section 303(a) of HAVA.”

“The State Board Defendants are required to update the State’s computerized voter list maintenance system used for elections for Federal offices (the ‘HAVA List’). Pursuant to Section 303(a)(5), State Board Defendants will ensure that voter registrations will have the required administrative number under HAVA. “

The document spells out actions the elections board must take to comply with the deal.

“The State Board Defendants will contact voters registered using an application that did not comply with HAVA or whose record in the HAVA List lacks the required HAVA identification number, to obtain the required information needed to update the record,” according to the document. “Consistent with HAVA’s requirement that all voter registration information be timely entered into the HAVA List, the State Board Defendants will make any update to a record in the HAVA List on an expedited basis after receiving the update, as defined in the proposed Order.”

The state elections board will ensure county elections boards and staff “receive appropriate training and instructions” on HAVA compliance. The state board will also monitor HAVA compliance.

Voters with updated registration records “will vote by regular ballot” in upcoming elections. Those without updated records will cast provisional ballots.  “The State Board Defendants will instruct the county boards of elections that for all provisional ballots issued pursuant to paragraph 6(c) only, the vote cast for each Federal office on the provisional ballot will be counted so long as the voter is otherwise eligible to vote under state law,” according to the document. “The provisional voting process outlined in Paragraph 6 shall not, by itself, result in any voter being removed from the official list of registered voters in state or Federal elections in North Carolina.”

“At the outset of this litigation, the records of approximately 100,000 voters lacked a driver’s license or the last four digits of the voter’s social security number as required by HAVA,” federal and state government lawyers wrote. “As of September 2, 2025, that number is 81,810 and dropping as the State Board continues its efforts to collect this information from affected registrants.”

The Justice Department and State Board of Elections urge Myers to deny motions from outside groups to intervene in the case. The Democratic National Committee, state NAACP, League of Women Voters of North Carolina, and North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans all have asked to take part in the case.

If Myers seeks input from those groups, the new court filing suggests a Sept. 17 deadline for responses to the proposed court order.

The Republican National Committee and North Carolina Republican Party filed suit in August 2024 challenging the former Democrat-majority elections board’s handling of the voter registrations discussed in the Justice Department suit.

The GOP complaint challenged 225,000 voter registrations linked to a disputed voter registration form. Republican groups asked for the affected voters to be dropped from the voting rolls or required to cast a provisional ballot in the 2024 general election.

Courts refused to force the elections board to take that step.

Republican state Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin later raised the same issue in ballot challenges after the election. Trailing Democrat Allison Riggs by 734 votes, Griffin challenged more than 65,000 votes cast in the contest. More than 60,000 of those ballots involved voters whose registration records appeared to lack the required HAVA information.

The state Supreme Court ultimately decided that those votes would count in the final election tally. Griffin conceded the election after Myers declined to support a “cure” process that would have affected ballots Griffin challenged for other reasons.

“Justice Department, NC elections board file joint motion to end voter registration suit” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.