Written by SAM GARRETT
On December 4, 2025, the North Carolina State Board of Elections issued a second request for cooperation to North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Paul Tine. The first request was sent on September 29, 2025. According to Jason Tyson, Director of External Affairs for the NCSBE, “some communication has taken place but no official response at this time.”
The NCSBE requested data to help ensure the accuracy of the state’s voter rolls. One of the specific requests was for the NCDMV to provide full social security numbers for registered voters who are also NCDMV customers. According to the NCSBE, that information would allow election officials to match voter records more precisely against other government databases, identify duplicates and verify voter eligibility.
“Accurate voter rolls are essential to both voter access and election integrity,” NCSBE Executive Director Sam Hayes said. “Full cooperation between our agencies will help ensure that only eligible voters are on the rolls, while reducing the risk of false matches that can undermine public trust.”
At its November 25 meeting, NCSBE voted to enter into a memorandum of agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to use the federal government’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database. When finalized, the agreement will allow the State Board to verify citizenship status in limited circumstances consistent with state and federal law. Hayes noted that federal law supports the request. Section 303 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 requires election officials and state motor vehicle agencies to share information as necessary to verify the accuracy of voter registration data.
The December request also referenced concerns raised earlier this year by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, regarding instances in which NCDMV examiners inadvertently processed voter registrations for non-citizens.
On December 2, Ferguson announced the NCDMV was improving its voter registration process to protect election integrity. The announcement followed a rigorous review in July by the U.S. Attorney’s office which identified ineligible individuals, including undocumented immigrants, whom the NCDMV improperly registered to vote. The U.S. Attorney initiated the inquiry following a report by Homeland Security Investigations that the NCDMV permitted ineligible individuals to register to vote, sometimes without the individuals’ knowledge. The investigation found individuals were erroneously given citizen identification cards for years and some were registered to vote even after informing the NCDMV they were not citizens. The involved NCDMV examiners initially blamed the error on a “system glitch,” but the NCDMV later admitted “the online system doesn’t verify citizenship status.”
“This all started when Homeland security brought six cases to our office,” Ferguson said. “They found six individuals who had registered to vote and are not eligible to vote; It turns out they never meant to register to vote.”
The U.S. Attorney asked the NCDMV Commissioner to review the voter registration processes to ensure non-eligible individuals were not being registered to vote. The NCDMV agreed to investigate and found that individuals had been registered to vote due to errors by NCDMV examiners. These errors included mistakenly marking individuals as U.S. citizens, which “bypassed the necessary legal presence questions and allowed voter registration.” The DMV also found a “system error” that lasted for three months and permitted ineligible individuals to register to vote.
“The system is set up for the examiner at the DMV to enter into the computer a customer’s eligibility; if the person is eligible to register to vote they get a prompt on the computer to register them to vote,” Ferguson said. “The DMV has admitted that for a period of approximately three months, the prompt to register someone to vote would pop up for everyone. When it pops up, the examiners are trained to fill it out. They have no idea how many people they registered during that time.”
Following the inquiry by the U.S. Attorney, the NCDMV agreed to make changes to safeguard the North Carolina voter rolls and assure election integrity. Some changes include:
- Issuing a statewide reminder to DMV examiners on protocols and safeguards to ensure proper voter registration of only eligible individuals through the DMV.
- Designing and implementing new training modules for DMV examiners with a special emphasis on citizenship verification processes.
- Modernizing DMV technology to streamline technological processes and reduce examiner errors, including the voter registration component.
- Hiring additional personnel to increase accurate input of sensitive data.
- Actively pursuing a technical solution to effectively integrate citizenship checks into the DMV’s online and kiosk voter-registration application systems.
According to Ferguson the NCDMV is also coordinating with the NCSBE to ensure that any ineligible individuals identified by the federal government have been removed from voter rolls. He also expressed his belief that the NCDMV is consulting its legal department to ensure compliance with current laws and confidentiality requirements.
“It is vitally important that our elections in North Carolina are accurate, fair, and irreproachable—and that the public has confidence in them—to protect the foundation of our democracy,” Ferguson said. “We must ensure that our voter rolls are precise and do not include minors, felons or illegal aliens. The DMV, which accounts for as much as 80 percent of voter registrations in a given year, plays a central role in that process. We appreciate the agency’s cooperation to improve processes so that only eligible voters are added to the rolls.”
According to Ferguson the federal government has oversight authority to ensure states maintain accurate and current statewide voter lists and his office takes that obligation seriously. He is not confident this will solve all challenges related to election integrity.
“The DMV has a new pilot program that allows you to renew your driver’s license – it is a kiosk out in communities like at a local grocery store – this system allows for voter registration,” Ferguson said. “As far as I know, there is nothing to stop anyone from registering to vote at that kiosk, even if they are not eligible.”
Ferguson views the six individuals Homeland Security presented to his office and others as victims.
“This is a terrible situation for those who are not eligible to vote; someone may be in the process with their paperwork, they have a visa and are waiting to be a permanent resident, then the DMV registers them by mistake and it is investigated,” Ferguson said. “This could limit their chance for citizenship. Those folks are truly a victim in this.”
The NCSBE knows this will be a long process and is ready to get to work to prepare for the 2026 midterm elections. According to Hayes, the NCSBE stands ready to work with NCDMV to ensure any data transfer is secure and compliant with all legal requirements.
“We take these concerns seriously and are committed to addressing them responsibly,” Hayes said. “Working with the NCDMV to strengthen data-sharing is one of the most effective steps we can take to keep North Carolina’s voter rolls accurate and lawful.”
As of the time of this story, the NCDMV had not responded to our request for an interview. High Country Press will continue to follow this story.
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