Proposed Legislation Would Limit Early Voting Period
Legislation (S.B 1084) which would reduce North Carolina’s early voting period from 17 to 10 days was filed in the General Assembly on May 18. In-person voting during the early voting period is preferred by North Carolinians as demonstrated during the 2024 General Election when approximately 74% of the total ballots were cast during the early voting period.

Reduction in the early voting period will compress voting into fewer days and likely create longer wait times at voting locations. It will also affect voting access for working voters, elderly voters, and students.

Read more about S.B. 1084 at NC Newsline.

N.C. State Board of Elections Approves Rules to Identify and Remove Non-U.S. Citizens
The N.C. State Board of Elections has approved rules to check the citizenship of all registered voters in North Carolina against federal databases to identify and remove any non-U.S. citizens from the voter rolls. The new rules outline the process that must be followed before a voter is removed.

Voters’ names, dates of birth, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers will be run through the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database, which will provide information on any possible noncitizens. The State Board of Elections entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for this purpose on March 3, 2026.

The rules require that the voter receive notice and an opportunity to be heard, including the opportunity to obtain and provide documentation of their citizenship, before being removed. The rules approved by the State Board go to the Rules Review Commission for review and final approval before they become effective.

View the release issued by the NC Board Elections on the implementation of rules to remove non-U.S. citizens

Letter About Unvalidated Voter Identification
The North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) has sent letters to more than 241,000 North Carolina registered voters whose identification numbers do not validate on governmental databases. The letter encourages affected voters to update their voter registration by providing their driver’s license or social security numbers or by ensuring the name on their voter registration matches other official government records.

The letters were sent to two groups of voters:

• Voters whose identification numbers, which they provided when registering to vote (driver’s license or social security numbers), do not validate in governmental databases.  When this group of affected voters go to vote they will be asked if they want to update their information.
• Voters who registered to vote prior to the Help America Vote Act that required voters to provide a driver’s license or last four digits of the social security numbers. When this group of affected voters go to vote they will not be asked if they want to update their information.

Regardless of whether a voter updates their information, they will vote using a regular ballot not a provisional ballot.

To read the NCSBE’s release about the “Unvalidated Identification” program click here and to read the letter sent to voters click here. Frequently Asked Questions about the “Unvalidated Identification” program can be viewed here.

Board of Elections Sends Second Round of Registration Repair Letters
The N.C. State Board of Elections sent a second round of Registration Repair letters to voters whose registration records are missing either a driver’s license number (DL#) or the last four digits of their Social Security number (SSN4), as required by state and federal law. The letters were sent in late November, 2025. Read more about the second round of Registration Repair Letters here.

Board of Elections Agrees to Use SAVE Database to Verify Voters’ Citizenship
The N.C. State Board of Elections voted on November 25, 2025 to enter into an agreement with U.S. Department of Homeland Security to share voter information with DHS’s SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) database. The database will be used to verify N.C. voters’ citizenship status. Read more at NC Newsline.

Federal Court Allows New Congressional Map to Be Used for 2026 Election
A panel of federal judges have ruled that North Carolina’s new congressional map enacted by Session Law 2025-95 can be used for the 2026 elections. The North Carolina NAACP, Common Cause of North Carolina and a group of voters had argued the new map reflects unconstitutional racial discrimination. Read more at NC Newsline.

N.C. State Board of Elections Makes Changes to Overseas and Military Voting
On July 21, 2025, the N.C. State Board of Elections approved Numbered Memo 2025-01 Changes to Voting for Military and Overseas Voters. The Memo provides guidance on changes to the legal requirements and processes for military and overseas voters. The Memo indicates the changes are in response to court rulings in the 2024 NC supreme court race.

Military and Overseas Voters: Starting with the 2025 municipal elections, in order for military and overseas voters to vote in North Carolina state and local contests using an absentee ballot, they must submit: (1) an acceptable photocopy of a photo ID or (2) a completed Photo ID Exception Form with their ballot.

Overseas U.S. citizens who have never resided in North Carolina: U.S. citizens, who were born abroad and have never resided in North Carolina but whose parent was last eligible to vote in North Carolina, are no longer allowed to vote in North Carolina state and local elections. They can only vote in federal contests.
Read more on WRAL News

NC State Board of Elections Launches Registration Repair Project
The NC State Board of Elections has launched a Registration Repair Project to collect identification numbers – driver’s license numbers or the last four digits of social security numbers (SSN4) – for 100,000+ voters missing them on the state’s voter rolls.

The Registration Repair Project is part of the Board’s “Plan to Collect Incomplete Registration Information from Certain Voters” approved on June 24,2025.
Read more from NC Newsline.

DNC Contends Plan to Collect Missing Voter Information Could Prevent Many Voters from Voting
On July 11, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) sent a letter to the NC State Board of Elections contending the Board’s recently adopted “Plan to Collect Incomplete Registration Information from Certain Voters” is in violation of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).  The DNC is threating legal action unless the Board resolves the violations by October 9, 2025.
Read More.