CHARLOTTE — James Wallace has been voting for decades with no issues, so he was surprised when he got a letter in the mail saying he has to update his voter registration information.
“I said, this is strange,” he said. “I’ve been voting for the longest time. You know, every time you go to the polls, you show your license, and that’s it.”
The State Board of Elections sent letters to more than 241,000 North Carolinians.
In some cases, the state lacks their driver’s license number or social security number. Up until 2004, it wasn’t a requirement to provide this info.
In other cases, the name on their voter registration isn’t matching what’s listed in official government records.
Elections Director Michael Dickerson says the calls have been constant, and people have been in and out of his office all day to update their info.
He’s stressing that they will still be able to cast a ballot this primary.
“I don’t want people thinking that we’re doing something to get rid of their ballot. They’ve done everything fine,” he said. “We’re just trying to get your information validated again. You’re in the books, you’re able to vote.”
Dickerson says if you don’t update your information ahead of time, when you go to the polls, the poll worker will ask you if you want to update it at the polling site. This is impacting about 20,000 people in Mecklenburg County. You would have gotten a letter in the mail indicating you’re one of them.
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From Meck BOE: “There is now a 2nd list from the State Board of Elections (not the “Griffin” Registration Repair list). Some of you may have received letters from your BOE concerning this new list. The State Board has flagged voters who do not have valid Driver’s License or Social Security numbers on file. These people may have voted in past elections without issues. If you are one of these people, you may still vote a regular ballot without making any changes. That vote will be counted. At this time the State Board of Elections has not yet made correct Driver’s License and Social Security numbers a voting eligibility requirement.
You may provide the correct or new information at the Early Voting polling site to update your registration. The workers will accept your completed letter.
You may provide ONLINE If you have an NC driver’s license. You can submit an updated voter registration form through the NCDMV’s secure website. There is no fee for this service. There is a link on the Meck BOE website under resources."
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