GOP seeks ruling against ‘never residents’ voting in NC elections

The state and national Republican parties are asking a North Carolina court to determine that so-called “never residents” cannot vote in state elections. It’s an issue that played a role in the months-long dispute over the outcome of the 2024 state Supreme Court election.

The GOP plaintiffs in a lawsuit called Kivett v. North Carolina State Board of Elections filed a motion for summary judgment Wednesday in Wake County Superior Court.

The case is scheduled for a four-day bench trial starting April 20. Summary judgment means that a judge issues a decision about the case’s final outcome without holding a trial.

“Summary judgment is appropriate because there is no genuine issue of material fact that Defendants’ application of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-258.2(1)(e) to permit individuals who have never resided in North Carolina (‘Never Residents’) to register to vote and cast ballots in North Carolina elections — whether state, local, or federal — violates the North Carolina Constitution,” wrote lawyers representing the Republican National Committee, North Carolina Republican Party, Telia Kivett, and Wanda Nelson  Fowler.

“Federal law does not address or authorize voting by Never Residents, and it is well-established that the United States Constitution entrusts states with primary authority to design and administer their electoral systems and set qualifications for voters,” the motion added. “Accordingly, in the absence of any federal statutory directives, any ability for such individuals to register or vote in North Carolina elections must arise, if at all, under state law.”

“But the North Carolina Constitution expressly limits the franchise to residents of the State,” GOP lawyers wrote, citing Article VI, section 2 of the state’s governing document. “Construing N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-258.2(1)(e) in a manner that purports to extend the franchise beyond those clear limits is therefore unconstitutional as applied.”

“The North Carolina Court of Appeals recently held that Never Residents are constitutionally prohibited from registering or voting in North Carolina’s state contests,” the motion continued, citing a 2025 ruling in the state Supreme Court electoral dispute between Democrat Allison Riggs and Republican Jefferson Griffin. “The same constitutional reasoning likewise precludes Never Residents from voting in North Carolina’s federal election contests. Accordingly, Plaintiffs are entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law.”

Republican groups filed paperwork in February dropping an appeal to the state Supreme Court in the Kivett case, writing “there is no further relief sought from this court.” The Republican groups asked for an order “dismissing this appeal in its entirety.”

GOP lawyers first turned to the state Supreme Court days before the November 2024 election.

“Plaintiffs seek a simple but necessary solution to remedy an ongoing and increasingly dangerous threat to the integrity of North Carolina’s elections,” they wrote. “Evidence in the record makes clear that Defendants are allowing, in their own words, an ‘unknown’ number of overseas citizens who have never resided in North Carolina to register and vote in the state’s elections. This is an unabashed violation of Article VI § 2 of the state Constitution. Thus, Plaintiffs seek an order enjoining Defendants from counting these potentially illegal ballots and instead segregating and counting them as provisional ballots until the voter’s qualifications under all applicable and constitutional state and federal laws can be adequately established.”

Riggs, an appointed incumbent, had to wait until May 2025 to be certified as the winner of the November 2024 state Supreme Court election. She defeated Griffin, a state Appeals Court judge, by 734 votes out of more than 5.5 million ballots cast.

Griffin challenged the results in state and federal court. He questioned more than 65,000 ballots cast statewide. Most were cast by voters with registration records that appeared to lack federally required driver’s license or Social Security numbers. Griffin’s challenges also focused on overseas voters who provided no photo identification and “never residents,” voters who checked a box on a voter form indicating they had never lived in North Carolina.

The State Board of Elections certified Riggs as the winner after US Chief District Judge Richard Myers issued a May 5, 2025, order ending the election dispute. Myers rejected a state Supreme Court decision in April 2025 that placed at least 1,675 and as many as 5,700 ballots from the 2024 election in question.

Republican groups filed the Kivett case in 2024 while Democrats held a 3-2 majority on the State Board of Elections. Senate Bill 382, approved after the 2024 election, transferred election board appointments from the governor to the state auditor. Then-Gov. Roy Cooper and his successor, Gov. Josh Stein, are Democrats. Auditor Dave Boliek is a Republican.

Boliek used his appointments in 2025 to flip the elections board to a 3-2 Republican majority. The North Carolina Appeals Court heard oral arguments in February in Stein’s lawsuit challenging the appointment shift.

“GOP seeks ruling against ‘never residents’ voting in NC elections” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.