N.C. to change the way it vets its new voters

After this election, North Carolina will stop using Social Security numbers to verify the identities of many new voters after questions arose this week about the legality of its registration practices.

On Thursday, The New York Times named North Carolina as one of several states that are checking the Social Security numbers of hundreds of thousands of new voters, despite federal laws requiring that the numbers be checked only if no state-issued identification is available. The Social Security database is plagued with errors, which could force some qualified voters to provide additional identification -- adding an unnecessary barrier to voting.

The need for more identification could cause confusion Nov. 4, an Election Day expected to bring unprecedented numbers to the polls. State officials say that, by Election Day, they expect to have registered more than 800,000 new North Carolina voters this year. About 218,000 were also taken off the rolls this year -- either because they died, moved or were convicted of felonies -- so the net gain would be about 600,000 voters.

State Board of Elections Director Gary Bartlett said he did not have numbers available Thursday of how many new voters might have been flagged for the November election because their Social Security numbers didn't match federal records. Since last October, 400,000 numbers have been checked, and Bartlett said that typically more than 40 percent are kicked back because they don't match the federal database.

However, many of those voters likely will not have problems on Election Day, because they also provided a valid drivers' license number.

Bartlett said Thursday that Social Security number problems are "not going to disenfranchise anyone."

Those whose numbers were flagged can still vote if they provide identification either before the election, at the polls, or within 10 days after the election. He said county boards of election try to notify the affected voters before Election Day.

Bartlett said the state has been using the same registration process since 2006, when a federal law was enacted to centralize and ensure the accuracy of voter rolls. At that time, the state began asking voters for a driver's license or Social Security number and verifying all numbers provided. If either is valid, the voter goes on the rolls.

In cases where neither is valid -- or in which the voter has provided only a Social Security number that doesn't match the federal database -- voters are then asked to provide identification, such as a utility bill or other government document that shows a name and address.

Bartlett said the board will stop checking Social Security numbers, except for those of people who can't provide valid driver's licenses, after the election. He said it's impossible to change the process before Election Day, as the state rushes to enter hundreds of thousands of new voters.

Seeking the best list

Bartlett said that until this week federal officials had never questioned his process, which had been vetted by the U.S. Department of Justice and by independent advocacy groups. He said he does not believe the law is clear on the issue and that the state has done no wrong.

"We want to have the best list [of voters] possible for North Carolina," Bartlett said.

Last week, the Social Security Administration sent a letter to the state saying that North Carolina had checked a far greater number than states of similar size. The letter said Social Security numbers should be checked only for those without valid state identification.

"We ask that you bring your procedures into conformance with your legal obligations," the letter read.

Laughlin McDonald, director of the ACLU Voting Rights Project, said the law is clear that driver's license numbers are the first option, and Social Security numbers or an alternate number assigned by the state are second options. He said there could be problems if voters whose Social Security numbers are rejected don't present another identification when asked to do so.

"What if the voter did not respond to the communication?" he asked. The burden is on the state to get the registration process right, he said. "I don't think the voter needs to do anything."

Bob Hall, a leading voting-rights advocate in North Carolina, said publicity about the problem would hurt voter turnout. "It feeds the cynicism that people shouldn't bother participating in elections that is very destructive, even though it may not be intended that way," said Hall, executive director of Democracy North Carolina.

Other states have been accused of improperly purging voters from their rolls this year, but North Carolina has not. The number of people taken off the rolls this year is fewer than in previous years, Bartlett said. Even people who no longer qualify to vote are left in the state's voter database and can vote by provisional ballots, he said.