Wrongly labeled 'never residents' must have votes counted, state elections officials conclude

Citing reporting from Anderson Alerts in partnership with The Assembly and Popular Information, several voters wrongly labeled as "never residents" will have their ballots counted.

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North Carolina State Board of Elections Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell addresses reporters at a Nov. 5, 2024, news conference.

In a federal court filing late Tuesday night, the North Carolina State Board of Elections said it would count the votes of people Anderson Alerts identified as having been wrongly protested by Republican Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin as “never residents.”

The reporting emerged from an intense 72-hour stretch of a review of public records, online information and interviews with impacted voters, bolstered by partnerships with The Assembly and Popular Information.

Prior to the NCSBE’s court filing, 260 North Carolina voters labeled as “never residents” were poised to have their ballots immediately removed from the Supreme Court tally without any opportunity to address concerns Griffin had with their ballots.

A review from Anderson Alerts initially identified at least 16 people within that group who were born in North Carolina, resided in North Carolina, still live in North Carolina, or some combination of the three. That list has since grown to at least 29 people, including 11 individuals who have voted in person in at least one election.

With Tuesday’s NCSBE filing, these voters would stand to have their votes counted without any additional information needed on their end. The remaining 231 “never resident” voters are to get 30 days to submit a sworn affidavit stating that they have resided in the county and identifying their prior residential address.

The state elections board cited a need “to ensure these challenged voters were properly identified and are afforded due process.”

In Griffin’s protest of military and overseas voters lacking a photo ID, anywhere from 1,394 to 1,409 impacted voters would get 30 days to address concerns with their ballot. The shot clock is to start once the Guilford County Board of Elections mails out the notice. An additional 4,000 voters from Buncombe, Durham and Forsyth counties are to have their votes counted, as Griffin didn’t file those protests in time, according to the NCSBE.

The order leaves the state with 1,654 possible outstanding votes. If the NCSBE’s interpretation of a North Carolina Court of Appeals ruling holds, Democratic Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs will win.

But the court process must still play out, and the NCSBE’s interpretation of the state court must be affirmed as accurate.