Records: 1,400 Voters Flagged as Foreign Nationals in North Carolina

The North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) flagged more than 1,400 registered voters as foreign nationals prior to the 2014 midterm elections, records obtained by the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) reveal.

In a detailed report, PILF researchers unveil the extent to which the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993, known as “Motor Voter,” has made it easier for states to wrongfully register foreign nationals to vote.

“After 30 years under…Motor Voter, the unintended consequences of the law are clear in North Carolina: It has never been easier to register to vote, so much so that even foreign nationals are being registered,” PILF researchers write:

It is extremely difficult to prevent and remove foreign national registrations because of the NVRA’s mandates. The entire problem was hidden from the public — including the documentary proof of alien registration — for years. [Emphasis added]

Through litigation, PILF obtained state election records showing that ahead of the 2014 midterm elections, for example, NCSBE officials identified more than 10,000 registered voters as potential foreign nationals.

From there, more than 80 percent of the registrants in question were shown to have been naturalized American citizens, leaving over 1,400 flagged as foreign nationals — most of whom were on green cards, temporary visas, or illegal aliens on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Of those remaining registrants flagged by NCSBE, 89 went to vote on election day in 2014 and 24 were challenged at polling sites.

Eleven of those challenged were found definitively to have been foreign nationals at the time while state election officials said most who had their registrations challenged requested to be removed from the voter rolls.

“North Carolina’s experience makes clear how some of Motor Voter’s aging provisions are allowing foreign interference in our elections by causing foreign nationals to get registered to vote,” PILF President J. Christian Adams said in a statement:

Then, the law’s provisions create roadblocks for election officials to correct the record. Congress must modernize Motor Voter. The best way to celebrate 30 years of the National Voter Registration Act is to make sure it serves everyone in America — especially those among us who cannot yet vote.
[Emphasis added]

North Carolina is only the latest jurisdiction where PILF researchers have found tremendous issues stemming from Motor Voter.

Last month, as Breitbart News exclusively reported, nearly 400 foreign nationals were discovered on voter rolls in Cook County, Illinois, over the last 16 years. Many of those put onto voter rolls in the county had clearly stated on forms that they were not American citizens but were seemingly registered anyway.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.