North Carolina weighs investigating ‘presumptive noncitizens’ in latest attack on voting
North Carolina election officials are considering a plan to flag voters as “presumptive noncitizens” and potentially strike them from the state’s voter rolls.
The alarming new concept is part of a slate of proposed rules that aim to ramp up voter list maintenance, a formerly obscure area of election administration that has been dramatically politicized by allies of President Donald Trump who are determined to undermine the public’s confidence in elections.
The five-member North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) is currently considering the rules. Republicans took control of the board last year, installing a GOP majority and immediately replacing the long-time, nonpartisan director with a party political operative.
Despite the board’s newfound focus on stopping noncitizens from voting, there is no evidence indicating that a problem exists on a scale that could impact election results. An NCSBE audit found that 41 noncitizens cast ballots in North Carolina’s 2016 election, out of a total 4.8 million votes.
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Under the proposed plan, the state board would send a “notice of noncitizenship” flagging a “presumptive noncitizen” to county boards. If the county board could not locate documentation of an individual’s citizenship in its records, then it would enter a challenge to the voter’s eligibility to remain registered to vote, set a date for a preliminary hearing and send a notice to the voter. The county board would then either dismiss the challenge if documentation were provided or set a date for a second hearing to make a final decision.
North Carolina voting advocates warn that the proposed concept creates “significant risk that eligible voters will be removed in error.” In a letter to the board, advocates cautioned the state against using the federal government’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) tool to flag potential noncitizens, noting that election officials in other states have found the system to be unreliable.
Instead, they are recommending alternative procedures to verify citizenship and asking the board not to allow voters’ removal from the rolls within 90 days before an election.
The public comment period for the proposed rule changes began on Jan. 15 and will run through March 16. A public hearing is set for Feb. 2.