Voter Registration

by Dr. Andy Jackson

Director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity, John Locke Foundation

January 1, 2025

Introduction

Modern voter registration developed as part of Progressive Era (roughly 1895-1920) election reforms. Voter registration limited the power of the political machines of that era to use repeat voting and voting by noncitizens to run up turnout to their advantage.

North Carolinians can register to vote by downloading a voter registration form from the North Carolina State Board of Elections (SBE) website, filling it out, and mailing it to their county board of elections. They can also register at a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) office while getting a driver’s license or ID. People who already have a driver’s license or ID may register online through the DMV.

By maintaining an accurate record of those eligible to vote, voter registration protects the right of citizens to vote while helping reduce election fraud. The system has proven to be successful in those dual missions. Today, every state uses voter registration rolls except North Dakota (which requires proof of residency and maintains precinct-level lists of voters).

County boards of elections maintain lists of registered voters and report any changes to their lists to the SBE. They regularly update those lists by adding new registrants and removing registrants who have died or have moved out of the county. The SBE provides data such as death records to county boards to help update registration lists. They also remove registrants who are ineligible to vote because they are actively serving a felony conviction, including probation or parole.

Many registrants, however, do not inform election boards when they move out of a county, meaning that lists become less accurate over time. To fix that problem, county boards perform biennial list maintenance by removing registrations under two criteria: the registrant has not voted in any election in the county over four federal election cycles (eight years) and has not replied to a contact from the county board.

According to the SBE, “voter roll list maintenance is important because it ensures ineligible voters are not included on poll books, reduces the possibility for poll worker error, and decreases opportunities for fraud.” List maintenance is effective only if election boards have accurate data on people no longer eligible to vote. The Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) shares death and new voter registration data between member states. It also allows member states to share purchased data, such as the U.S. Social Security Administration’s death index. However, there are concerns that the ERIC data-sharing process would violate the privacy of those who choose not to register to vote. Voter registrations are already public records. Because of those concerns, the FY 2023-24 state budget included a provision barring the state from joining ERIC.

An emerging threat to the integrity of our elections is the return of noncitizen voting. The District of Columbia voted to allow noncitizens to vote in 2022. It joined California, Maryland, and Vermont, all of which allow noncitizens to vote in at least some elections. Major news outlets such as CNN, the New York Times, and the Boston Globe have all recently argued for granting noncitizens the right to vote.

Key Facts

County boards of elections maintain lists of registered voters. As part of that mission, they perform regular list maintenance every two years, removing inactive registrations.
Section 2 of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution allows states to deny the right to vote to anyone for “participation in rebellion, or other crime.”
The North Carolina State Constitution states: “No person adjudged guilty of a felony against this State or the United States, or adjudged guilty of a felony in another state that also would be a felony if it had been committed in this State, shall be permitted to vote unless that person shall be first restored to the rights of citizenship in the manner prescribed by law.”
Since biennial list maintenance removes only those registrants who have not voted in at least four federal election cycles (eight years), its effect on voting is minimal.
Most states allowed noncitizens to vote at some point in their histories, with North Carolina having allowed it until 1856.

Recommendations

1. Continue biennial voter registration list maintenance.

Regular list maintenance is essential to keeping voter registration lists accurate, helping maintain the integrity of our election process.

2. Amend the North Carolina State Constitution so that only citizens can vote in any election.

North Carolina currently limits voting rights to citizens by statute. That law can be reversed by temporary majorities in the General Assembly or the state Supreme Court. Whether noncitizens can vote in our elections is fundamental to how our republic works. Its importance rises to the point where it should be a part of our state government’s foundational document.

Joining such a data-sharing program would improve list maintenance in North Carolina. ERIC is currently the only data-sharing program in operation. Another program, Crosscheck, had to end operations under a court order after it suffered a data breach. North Carolina should re-consider joining ERIC if that organization reforms its data-sharing and North Carolina passes a law protecting the privacy of those not registered to vote.