North Carolina Identifies 34,000 Deceased Individuals on Voter Rolls, Prompting Calls for Cleanup Legislation

North Carolina's State Board of Elections identified about 34,000 deceased individuals on its voter rolls following a data comparison with a federal database. The board submitted over 7.3 million voter records to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database earlier this month as part of an effort to improve registration accuracy.

The executive director of the State Board of Elections stated that the number was higher than anticipated but highlighted the value of such checks in uncovering issues. The board plans to collaborate with county election boards to remove the deceased individuals from the rolls, following state and federal legal procedures.

The executive director of Honest Elections Project Action expressed concern that some states are not undertaking similar voter roll maintenance efforts. He described North Carolina's actions as an example of using federal records to address invalid registrations and called for broader adoption of such measures.

The SAVE America Act would require proof of U.S. citizenship for federal election voter registration, mandate states to verify rolls using citizenship data, remove ineligible registrants, and impose penalties on officials who register voters without required proof.

The legislation remains pending in the Senate. Last week, several Senate Republicans joined Democrats in voting against attaching a version of the act to a funding bill for federal immigration enforcement. Senate Democrats have opposed the bill, stating it could disenfranchise up to 21 million citizens lacking easy access to passports or birth certificates and might create chaos in election administration.

The discovery has raised questions about the presence of deceased voters on rolls in other states. Election officials in North Carolina emphasized their commitment to using all available tools to ensure accurate voter lists. The process of verifying and updating the rolls is expected to involve coordination with state and federal partners.