(The Center Square) – Identification and removal of registered voters that are not American citizens will begin soon in North Carolina, the State Board of Elections said Thursday.
The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database, also known as SAVE, will receive voters’ names, dates of birth and last four digits of Social Security numbers. It is part of the state’s agreement with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
“This is another way that we will continue to improve the accuracy of our voter rolls and make sure only eligible voters can cast ballots in this state,” said Sam Hayes, executive director of the State Board of Elections. “As noncitizens are removed from the voter list, necessary precautions will be taken to ensure that no eligible voters are affected.”
Only U.S. citizens may vote in the state’s elections, says the constitution of the state. To register otherwise is a felony.
The board said it was without evidence of a widespread problem. Yet, an audit of the 2016 general election showed nearly 4.8 million votes cast and 41 ineligible noncitizens with legal status such as a green card did vote.
Sometimes, Hayes’ office said, it’s a matter of mistaken interpretation. For example, one voter more than 70 years in age and in the United States more than 50 years believed marriage to a U.S. citizen made her legal to vote.
North Carolina, ninth largest state in the country, has more than 7.7 million registered voters.
