North Carolina election board hit with second lawsuit in five days

Four days later in North Carolina politics, the Yankee great Yogi Berra’s “déjà vu all over again” came whistling through Monday’s election news cycle 11 days before absentee ballots go in the mail.

And like a reaction to Thursday’s filing by the state and national Republican Party, the State Board of Elections cites federal law in response to the Grand Old Party request.

The board, accused last week of failing to ensure lawful removal from voter rolls those people identified as noncitizens of the United States that registered to vote, this time is said to have neglected responsibility with the Help America Vote Act. The State Board of Elections changed its voter registration form to comply with HAVA, though Republicans say 225,000 people registered without the provisions required and were not contacted by the board to remedy their respective situations.

“Despite being aware of their alleged claims months ago, the plaintiffs have waited until two weeks before the start of voting to seek a court-ordered program to remove thousands of existing registered voters,” said Patrick Gannon, communications director for the board. “Federal law itself prevents such removal programs if they take place after the 90th day before a federal election, which was August 7. So, the lawsuit is asking for a rapid-fire voter removal program that violates federal law.”

Gannon said the lawsuit “also misunderstands the data and vastly overstates any alleged problems with voter registrations. If a voter does not have a driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number populated in the voter registration database, that does not necessarily mean that they were allowed to register improperly.”

Jason Simmons, chairman of the state GOP, said in a release, “This state board continually has problems ensuring voter rolls only have verified citizens. This lawsuit will remedy their ongoing refusal to collect the required information from those who want to take part in North Carolina elections. Accountability and fidelity to following the rule of law is long overdue for the most partisan elections board in state history.”

Michael Whatley, formerly the state chairman and now chairman of the Republican National Committee, said the state board failed to keep noncitizens off voter rolls, “fueling distrust and jeopardizing our elections.”

In addition to the 61-day window opening for absentee-by-mail voting on Sept. 6, early in-person voting is 52 days away and Election Day is 85 away.

Litigation was filed in Wake County Superior Court. Defendants are the board as a whole; members in respective capacities to include Chairman Alan Hirsch, Jeff Carmon, Stacy Eggers, Kevin Lewis, and Siobhan Millen; and Karen Bell in the capacity of executive director.

Two court cases, a congressional investigation and a General Assembly oversight inquiry embattled the board in July. Originally denying three petitions for party recognition, the state board ultimately approved two and was court-ordered to approve the third.