If you get a card in the mail from the Vance County Board of Elections asking you to confirm some information, it’s part of ongoing maintenance to keep the most updated voter rolls as possible. Vance County joins other county boards of elections across the state to conduct required processes designed to keep the state’s voter rolls accurate.
Elections Director Melody Vaughan told WIZS News this week that the office has sent out 177 cards requesting updated information from residents on the voter rolls. Vaughan said she anticipates another round of cards to go out in July.
These routine processes are required by state and federal laws, according to information from the N.C. State Board of Elections. Accurate voter rolls are maintained by removing voters who have moved or died or are otherwise ineligible to vote in that jurisdiction. Voter roll list maintenance is important because it ensures ineligible voters are not included on poll books during elections.
As a result of these processes, the number of North Carolina voter registrations will decrease in the first half of 2023. As of Feb. 25, about 7.2 million voters were registered in the state, down from more than 7.4 million on January 1.
A Biennial List Maintenance occurs early in odd-numbered years, so the cards that were sent from Vance County are part of the process to voters that have not voted in the previous two statewide elections and the county board of elections has had no contact with that person. In Vance County, the cards were sent to those with whom there has been no contact since Oct. 9, 2020.
If the voter doesn’t return the card within 30 days – and the elections office doesn’t get it back as undeliverable, the voter’s record will be marked “inactive” in the state’s voter registration database. Inactive voters are still registered voters, however; if an inactive voter shows up to vote, the person will be asked to verify their address and update it, if necessary.
The registrations of these voters will be canceled if they do not vote or otherwise confirm their registration by January 2027.
County boards of elections also have begun to remove certain “inactive” voters from the rolls. Voters will be removed from registration lists this year after being sent a no-contact mailing in 2019. Any voter removed in this way would not have had any contact with their county board of elections for four consecutive federal election cycles, not voted in any election during that time and not responded to a confirmation mailing.
Statewide, more than 264,000 inactive voters have been removed in 2023. Any removed registrant must be reinstated if the voter appears to vote and gives oral or written affirmation that the voter has not moved out of the county and has maintained residence continuously within the county. These voters’ votes will be counted absent evidence that they moved out of the county.
Voters may check their registration status at any time using the State Board’s Voter Search tool.
To learn more about registering to vote in North Carolina, visit: Registering.