State Board Investigating Reports of Misconduct by Voter Registration Drive Workers

Investigators at the State Board of Elections are looking into allegations of misconduct by individuals conducting voter registration drives, including that they are impersonating state or county election officials.

In recent months, reports have come from Brunswick, Buncombe, Chowan, Haywood, Nash, Scotland, and Wake counties.

Complaints, which mirror others lodged in recent years, include the following:

• Individuals working as part of voter registration drives are misinforming voters that they must re-register to vote to cast a ballot in future elections, no matter the circumstances. That is not true. Voters who are already registered are not required to re-register unless they have moved to a new county. However, voters who move to a new address in the same county or wish to change their name or party affiliation should submit a new voter registration application to update their voter record.
• Individuals are going door-to-door, falsely identifying themselves as county or state election workers. Government election workers do not go door-to-door for any reason.
• Voter registration applications turned into county boards of elections are missing required voter information or include inaccurate information, such as a wrong date of birth or a voter identification number different from what’s on file in the state election system. It is a Class I felony to falsify a voter registration form.

“The State Board will investigate all credible allegations of voter registration fraud by individuals or organizations,” said State Board Executive Director Sam Hayes. “When workers involved in voter drives falsify or alter information on registration forms, it can cause problems for innocent voters at the polls. This is unacceptable and hurts voter confidence.”

Tips for Voters

1. All voters may check their voter registration status through the State Board’s Voter Search tool. If you are already registered, you do not have to re-register.
2. If you are not registered or need to update your registration, please see How to Register or Updating Registration.
3. If you fill out a registration form as part of a registration drive, you may personally return the form to your county board of elections, either in person or by mail. You do not have to give the form back to the voter drive worker.
4. County and state elections officials do not go door-to-door. If a person claims to be a state or county elections worker, ask them for identification, take down their name and contact the State Board office.
5. Always ask voter registration workers to verify their identities and their organizations before providing any information to them. If an individual refuses to comply, do not provide information and contact the State Board in one of the following ways:

• Call the State Board office at (919) 814-0700 and ask for the Investigations Division.
• Send an email with as much information as possible and contact information to investigations.sboe@ncsbe.gov.
• Fill out an Election Law Complaint Form and return it to the State Board of Elections.

When conducting voter registration drives, organizers must follow guidelines set by statute and the State Board. For more information, organizers may visit Hosting Voter Registration Drives.