Court Enters Consent Order Requiring North Carolina to Fix Inaccurate Voter List

The Justice Department announced today that a federal court has entered a consent order that remedies North Carolina's failure to maintain an accurate voter list in violation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). The successful resolution of the case is another step toward achieving the mandate in President Donald J. Trump's Executive Order 14248 entitled "Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections," to ensure that elections are being held in compliance with federal laws which guard against illegal voting, unlawful discrimination, and other forms of fraud, error, or suspicion.

In the lawsuit filed on May 27, the United States alleged that North Carolina, in violation of HAVA's mandate and clear Congressional intent, used a State voter registration form that did not require a voter to provide identifying information such as a driver's license number or last four digits of a social security number. When the lawsuit was filed, it is estimated that at least 100,000 voters did not have the required identifying information on North Carolina's registration rolls. As of early September, that number has decreased as North Carolina engages in remedial actions to comply with HAVA.

"Unsuccessful intervenors showed breathtaking hubris when they made alarmist accusations against the Department of Justice, and yet claimed credit for the very relief that the Department actively pursued in the complaint," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "Nevertheless, we are pleased with the progress North Carolina has made and will continue to make as it cleans up its registration rolls, as required by federal law."

The Civil Rights Division's Voting Section enforces the civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the integrity of the vote, including the Voting Rights Act, National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act, and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.

More information about voting and elections is available on the Justice Department's website at https://www.justice.gov/voting. Complaints about possible violations of federal voting rights laws can be submitted through the Civil Rights Division's website at civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931.