The North Carolina State Board of Elections approved new administrative rules to verify the U.S. citizenship of registered voters using the federal SAVE database and to establish procedures that include multiple verification steps, as well as notice and an opportunity to prove citizenship before removal.
The board said the move is intended to improve the accuracy of voter rolls by identifying and removing noncitizens from registration lists. The decision follows a Memorandum of Agreement with federal immigration authorities, according to a press release from the North Carolina State Board of Elections. The approved rules now proceed to the Rules Review Commission for final review before they become effective.
An audit conducted by the State Board after the 2016 general election identified 41 ineligible noncitizens who voted out of nearly 4.8 million ballots cast. Many cases involved noncitizens misinformed about eligibility requirements during registration drives or by local officials. A Canadian citizen recently pleaded guilty in federal court to two counts of falsely claiming U.S. citizenship on North Carolina voter registration applications in 2022 and 2024 in order to vote in elections, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.
North Carolina maintains more than 7.6 million registered voters across the state. Other states have used the SAVE database to review voter rolls and identify thousands of apparent noncitizens for removal, while applying safeguards for eligible citizens. Virginia has removed over 6,300 noncitizens since 2022, while Texas has removed approximately 6,500—around 2,000 of whom voted in past elections, according to state records.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections serves as an independent agency charged with administering elections and campaign finance laws throughout North Carolina. It partners with county boards across all counties in overseeing voter registration list maintenance, conducting elections, enforcing eligibility requirements, and maintaining data-sharing agreements with federal agencies, according to information from the board.
