As North Carolinians begin voting in the 2026 elections, more than 241,000 voters are receiving letters from the N.C. Board of Elections declaring that an identification number in their registration record could not be “validated.” The Board’s staff insists no one is being removed from the rolls and voters can still cast ballots – but the letter did not say that!
Timing, scale and political context matter, and this decision is already creating widespread confusion and harm to public confidence.
In a state where voters have endured years of baseless voter suppression attacks, mass mailings like this do not land as routine paperwork. They land as warnings. They create uncertainty, and uncertainty is one of the most effective forms of voter suppression because it makes eligible voters question whether they should show up at all.
In this case, the state board’s staff sent the poorly worded letter without notifying county election officials of its contents or that it would mostly go to legacy voters – people who registered more than two decades ago and who have voted for years. Those elderly voters were especially confused, scared or angry.
The letter did point out that an “unvalidated” ID number is frequently caused by name changes, formatting mismatches, or clerical errors. But instead of quietly resolving issues – for example, at the polling place check-in desk – the board chose to spend tax dollars on an election-season mailing that predictably caused voter anxiety.
In a similarly heavy-handed way, the Republican-controlled state elections board is demanding access to otherwise private nine-digit Social Security numbers held by the Division of Motor Vehicles. For decades, the last four digits, along with a birthdate, have been enough to maintain voter rolls. But the new Board is pursuing an ambitious plan to screen and possibly purge voters by using a controversial, flawed federal database with SSNs.
These actions are not happening in a vacuum. Across the country, federal officials are framing elections through a lens of enforcement and suspicion rather than participation and trust. The U.S. Department of Justice has sought access to detailed voter roll data in numerous states for “voter integrity” investigations. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says officials must ensure “the right people” are voting and electing “the right leaders.” Similar statements indicate the Trump administration views elections not as an arena for broad participation and free expression, but as a means of exerting political control.
Whether or not that’s the intent in North Carolina, the cumulative effect is the same: local actions begin to mirror the national overreach, where large-scale voter-roll scrutiny and enforcement messaging risk normalizing suspicion instead of participation.
The board’s eagerness to send hundreds of thousands of alarming notices risks legitimizing a narrative that elections are fundamentally broken when they are not. It reassures the clarions of election fraud while forcing voters and local election officials to clean up the confusion.
To be clear, voters receiving a letter remain registered and are eligible to vote a regular ballot, even if they don’t respond to its poor instructions. If anyone needs help, they can call or text the nonpartisan Election Protection Hotline at 888-OUR-VOTE or contact their local board of elections.
North Carolina voters deserve an election system centered on participation, honesty and fiscal responsibility, not one that wastes taxpayer dollars sending thousands of people scrambling to prove they belong at the polls.
We need the N.C. Board of Elections and its staff to make caring for voters their top priority, rather than taking actions that create confusion and undermine trust.
Melissa Price Kromm is the director of North Carolina for the People, a voting rights advocacy group.
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