According to the law of North Carolina, voters must become state residents. However, a newly filed lawsuit claims that a state legislation that is currently in effect violates this requirement, opening the door to people who have not resides in the state to vote.
In 1986, Congress passed the Uniformed and Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act ( UOCAVA ), which allows members of the military and a select group of other foreign nationals to register and cast ballot in federal elections. Additionally, North Carolina has its own Uniform Military and Overseas Act ( UMOVA ).
A voter who was born outside of the country and has never resided there is still eligible to cast if “[ North Carolina ] is the last place a voter’s parent or legal guardian was, or under this Article would have been, eligible to vote before leaving the United States.
Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections ( RITE ) filed a lawsuit on Wednesday, alleging that the statute ignores the state constitution’s “unambiguous requirement of residency” and “purports to extend voter qualifications to some individuals who are not covered by UOCAVA and who do not and have never resided in North Carolina.”
The State of North Carolina‘s law states that” [a]ny man who has resided in the State of North Carolina for a year and in the corridor, hospital, or other vote area for 30 days following an vote, and possesses the other qualifications set out in this Article, may be able to cast ballot in any election held in this State.”
Plaintiffs contend that the definition of UMOVA “includes some individuals who have never really resided in North Carolina” and who, in the end, “may never have resided somewhere in the United States, let only North Carolina.”
The lawsuit claims that the election officials in North Carolina “unlawfully treated UMOVA citizens as if they were UOCAVA voters, including by exempting them from first-time citizens ‘ needs.” ” Only UOCAVA voters–not UMOVA voters–are entitled to exemption from those needs”.
According to the lawsuit,” North Carolina election authorities registered to vote people who have previously resided in North Carolina and had allowed them to cast ballots in the state and federal elections in that position without taking the necessary steps to confirm their identities,” adding that” this not only exposes our elections to considerable risk of fraud and other wrongdoing, but it is also against state law.”
The coat was brought on behalf of two North Carolinians, the Republican National Committee, and the North Carolina Republican Party.
RITE’s CEO and President Derek Lyons argues the state’s constitution “unequivocally require]s ] residency”.
” The North Carolina Constitution’s vote skills firmly require residency”, Lyons said in a speech. ” However, the condition is permitting individuals who have previously resided in North Carolina, let alone the United States, to vote in all of the country’s votes, from President down to local practices”.
The election authorities are “impermissibly using UMOVA to avoid their responsibilities to require certain verification from persons registering to vote,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit continues, claiming that accused ‘ failure to need this identification threatens the integrity of North Carolina’s primaries because it permits the counting of ballots that do not comply with the state’s constitutional criteria for counting and degrades the authenticity and reliability of the country’s voter registration names.
” Voting for our eligible military, and overseas should be simple, but that does not include those who are ineligible to vote, nor does it mean disregarding crucial verification requirements for those who live in foreign countries who claim to be citizens,” Lyons said in a statement.
Plaintiffs, in part, seek declaratory judgment to determine that” [a ] ny participation by a non-resident of North Carolina who has never resided in the state in the state’s elections is a violation of… the North Carolina Constitution as applied to Plaintiffs.” Additionally, they request that the court “o]rder Defendants take all necessary steps to rectify the harm caused by their unlawful actions.”
The Federalist’s election correspondent, Brianna Lyman. With a degree in International Political Economy, Brianna received her degree from Fordham University. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2