DOJ: North Carolina Violated ‘Sacred Trust’ With Faulty Election Rolls

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against North Carolina and its elections board on Tuesday over its maintenance of voter rolls.

The Justice Department’s lawsuit says that the North Carolina State Board of Elections violated federal election law and risked the integrity of its voter rolls. Voters in the state were allowed to register without providing identification, such as a driver’s license, in violation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), according to the suit.

“Defendants have failed to maintain accurate lists in North Carolina’s computerized statewide voter registration in violation of Section 303(a)(5) of HAVA and the sacred trust that the people of the State of North Carolina have put in them to ensure the fairness and integrity of elections for Federal office in the state, necessitating this litigation,” the lawsuit says.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March directing the Justice Department to vigorously enforce federal election laws.

“Above all, elections must be honest and worthy of the public trust. That requires voting methods that produce a voter-verifiable paper record allowing voters to efficiently check their votes to protect against fraud or mistake. Election-integrity standards must be modified accordingly. It is the policy of my Administration to enforce Federal law and to protect the integrity of our election process,” the order states.

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The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice is responsible for enforcing the president’s directive on election integrity. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the Civil Rights Division, said in a statement: “Accurate voter registration rolls are critical to ensure that elections in North Carolina are conducted fairly, accurately, and without fraud.”

“The Department of Justice will not hesitate to file suit against jurisdictions that maintain inaccurate voter registration rolls in violation of federal voting laws,” Dhillon added.

Sam Hayes, the executive director of the North Carolina elections board, acknowledged shortcomings in the state’s voter registration process.

“I was only recently notified of this action by the United States Department of Justice. We are still reviewing the complaint, but the failure to collect the information required by HAVA has been well documented. Rest assured that I am committed to bringing North Carolina into compliance with federal law,” Hayes told CBS17.