RNC, NCGOP sues North Carolina State Board of Elections over voter rolls

RALEIGH, NC (WWAY) — The Republican National Committee and North Carolina Republican Party have sued the North Carolina State Board of Elections for allegedly ignoring the law and failing to clean up the voter rolls.

Last year, the North Carolina General Assembly passed SB747, which includes a requirement for election officials to maintain the voter rolls by using jury questionnaire responses. According to the law: When people claim non-citizenship on the jury questionnaire, they must be investigated and potentially removed from the voter rolls.

The law went into effect on July 1.

The lawsuit claims the State Board of Elections is allowing people who swear on a government document that they are not citizens to stay on the voter rolls and allow them to cast ballots in the presidential election.

“Only Americans should vote in American elections,” said RNC Chairman Michael Whatley. “If someone claims non-citizenship, they must be taken off the voter rolls – that’s the law. The NCSBE has chosen to blatantly ignore the law, undermine basic election safeguards, and neglect a fundamental principle of our election integrity. The RNC and NCGOP defended this law in court, and now we will make sure the NCSBE follows and enforces these critical safeguards in The Old North State.”

However, the North Carolina State Board of Elections has dismissed allegations that it is not adhering to a new state law related to voter registration and jury duty excusals, calling such claims “categorically false.”

In a firm rebuttal, the board requested that the North Carolina Republican Party (NCGOP) and the Republican National Committee (RNC) withdraw their related press releases, warning that these assertions could “undermine voter confidence on an entirely false premise.”

The board outlined its efforts to comply with the law, which was enacted last month. As required, State Board staff have collaborated with clerks of superior court across North Carolina to identify individuals excused from jury duty for claiming non-citizenship. According to the board, this process led to identifying nine individuals whose names matched the voter rolls. If further checks with state and federal databases confirm these individuals are not U.S. citizens, the board plans to notify them and invite them to cancel their voter registrations to remain compliant with the law.

“This is the method of compliance that the State Board must undertake this year,” the statement said, citing federal law that prevents removing voters from rolls within 90 days of a federal election. The cutoff date for such removals was August 7. Beginning in 2025, the board will integrate this data into its list maintenance policies, akin to how it handles cases involving deceased voters and those convicted of felonies.

The State Board emphasized its transparency throughout the process, noting that Republican legislative staff had been briefed on compliance plans as early as November. Furthermore, the board shared information about the program during a publicly open statewide elections conference at the beginning of the month, attended by both Republican and Democratic election officials. State Board staff have also been meeting with clerks of court at regional conferences to explain the law’s implementation requirements.

Addressing accusations that it denied requests for agency records, the State Board clarified that no follow-up was made by the plaintiffs to resolve their records request before filing the lawsuit. The board pointed out that it routinely receives numerous public records requests and responds to them as capacity allows.