CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Earlier this month, the Macon County Board of Elections took former North Carolina congressman and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows off the state's voter roll. Shortly after, we learned he was also registered in South Carolina, despite being registered in Virginia, too. His south Carolina registration comes after he and his wife bought a house there last year.
THE QUESTION
When you move states, do you have to remove yourself from the previous state’s voter registration list?
OUR SOURCES
THE ANSWER
No, When you move states, you do not have to remove yourself from the previous state’s voter registration list.
WHAT WE FOUND
"What's supposed to happen is every state is supposed to periodically purge their roles," Huffmon said.
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State and county boards of elections are the ones in control of their own voter registration lists. Each board is able to clean up its list. These routine processes are required by state and federal laws.
“I don't just wipe them clean every year and have to start over. I actually have a list maintenance procedure that's set forth in the general statute that says this is how you maintain the list,” Dickerson said.
Here in North Carolina, state law requires the State Board of Elections to review the list of eligible voters every two years.
These four reasons could get someone removed from the voter roll in North Carolina:
- The voter is incarcerated
- The voter has moved to another state
- The voter has passed away
- Or the voter has been inactive for at least two federal elections
"You know, people skip elections all the time, and then come back and vote, thinking, 'oh, OK, this is a presidential election or a gubernatorial election I really care about,' so it would be unfair to voters to purge it quickly," Huffmon said. "But yet it's often the case that people are on two different states."
While a voter could remove themselves once they move, they don’t have to.
"It is not incumbent upon every individual who moves to then go back and unregister to vote," Huffmon said. "Now if you do try and vote in both places, you have committed a federal crime at that point. But it's not up to the individual to have to do that."
Contact Meghan Bragg at mbragg@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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