The U.S. Department of Justice has officially filed a lawsuit against the North Carolina State Board of Elections, accusing it of violating federal election law in what could become one of the most significant voter registration scandals in recent memory.
According to the complaint, more than 200,000 individuals may be improperly listed on the state’s voter rolls, lacking proper identification or legal registration, in direct violation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), a federal statute aimed at ensuring accurate and secure voter rolls nationwide.
The legal action follows President Trump’s March executive order, Executive Order 14248, which instructed federal agencies to crack down on illegal voting, fraud, and administrative breakdowns in the election system.
The DOJ’s 19-page complaint targets the entire North Carolina State Board of Elections—including members Francis X. De Luca, Jeff Carmon, Stacy Eggers IV, Siobhan O’Duffy Millen, and Robert Rucho—along with Executive Director Sam Hayes, accusing them of willfully refusing to enforce basic voter ID verification requirements.
According to the lawsuit, the state knowingly used a voter registration form that made crucial identification fields optional—blatantly violating federal law. The form allowed individuals to register without a valid driver’s license, the last four digits of their Social Security number, or any other unique identifier—all of which are mandatory under HAVA.
Making matters worse, internal testimony from a November 2023 hearing revealed that board officials were fully aware of the issue but deliberately chose not to correct it. Instead, they said they would “revamp the form later,” effectively allowing potentially ineligible voters onto the rolls ahead of the 2024 election.
“Accurate voter registration rolls are critical to ensure that elections in North Carolina are conducted fairly, accurately, and without fraud,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will not hesitate to file suit against jurisdictions that maintain inaccurate voter registration rolls in violation of federal voting laws.”
