North Carolina § 163-82 - 10. Official record of voter registration.

§ 163-82. 10. Official record of voter registration.

Official Record. - The State voter registration system is the official voter registration list for the conduct of all elections in the State. The State Board and the county board of elections may keep copies of voter registration data, including voter registration applications, in any medium and format expressly approved by the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources pursuant to standards and conditions established by the Department and mutually agreed to by the Department and the State Board. A completed and signed registration application form, if available, described in G.S. 163-82.3, once approved by the county board of elections, becomes backup to the official registration record of the voter. Personal Identifying Information. - Full or partial social security numbers, dates of birth, the identity of the public agency at which the voter registered under G.S. 163-82.20, any electronic mail address submitted under this Article, Article 20, or Article 21A of this Chapter, photocopies of identification for voting, and drivers license numbers, whether held by the State Board or a county board of elections, are confidential and shall not be considered public records and subject to disclosure to the general public under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes. Cumulative data based on those items of information may be publicly disclosed as long as information about any individual cannot be discerned from the disclosed data. Disclosure of information in violation of this subsection shall not give rise to a civil cause of action. This limitation of liability does not apply to the disclosure of information in violation of this subsection as a result of gross negligence, wanton conduct, or intentional wrongdoing that would otherwise be actionable. Voter Signatures. - The signature of the voter, either on the paper application or an electronically captured image of it, whether held by the State Board or a county board of elections, may be viewed by the public but may not be copied or traced except by election officials for election administration purposes. Any such copy or tracing is not a public record. Paperless, Instant Electronic Transfer. - The application described in G.S. 163-82.3 may be either a paper hard copy or an electronic document. Access to Registration Records. - Upon request by that person, the county board of elections shall provide to any person a list of the registered voters of the county or of any precinct or precincts in the county. The county board may furnish selective lists according to party affiliation, gender, race, date of registration, precinct name, precinct identification code, congressional district, senate district, representative district, and, where applicable, county commissioner district, city governing board district, fire district, soil and water conservation district, and voter history including primary, general, and special districts, or any other reasonable category. No list produced under this section shall contain a voter's date of birth. However, lists may be produced according to voters' ages. Both the following shall apply to all counties: The county board of elections shall make the voter registration information available to the public on electronic or magnetic medium. For purposes of this section, "electronic or magnetic medium" means any of the media in use by the State Board of Elections at the time of the request. Information requested on electronic or magnetic medium shall contain the following: voter name, county voter identification number, residential address, mailing address, sex, race, age but not date of birth, party affiliation, precinct name, precinct identification code, congressional district, senate district, representative district, and, where applicable, county commissioner district, city governing board district, fire district, soil and water conservation district, and any other district information available, and voter history including primary, general, and special districts, or any other reasonable category. Free Lists. - A county board shall provide, upon written request, one free list of all the registered voters in the county to the State chair of each political party and to the county chair of each political party once in every odd-numbered year, once during the first six calendar months of every even-numbered year, and once during the latter six calendar months of every even-numbered year. Each free list shall include the name, address, gender, age but not date of birth, race, political affiliation, voting history, precinct, precinct name, precinct identification code, congressional district, senate district, representative district, and, where applicable, county commissioner district, city governing board district, fire district, soil and water conservation district, and voter history including primary, general, and special districts of each registered voter. All free lists shall be provided as soon as practicable on one of any electronic or magnetic media, but no later than 30 days after written request. Each State party chair shall provide the information on the media received from the county boards or a copy of the media containing the data itself to candidates of that party who request the data in writing. As used in this section, "political party" means a political party as defined in G.S. 163-96. Exception for Address of Certain Registered Voters. - Notwithstanding subsections (c) and (d) of this section, if a registered voter submits to the county board of elections a copy of a protective order without attachments, if any, issued to that person under G.S. 50B-3 or a lawful order of any court of competent jurisdiction restricting the access or contact of one or more persons with a registered voter or a current and valid Address Confidentiality Program authorization card issued pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 15C of the General Statutes, accompanied by a signed statement that the voter has good reason to believe that the physical safety of the voter or a member of the voter's family residing with the voter would be jeopardized if the voter's address were open to public inspection, that voter's address is a public record but shall be kept confidential as long as the protective order remains in effect or the voter remains a certified program participant in the Address Confidentiality Program. That voter's name, precinct, and the other data contained in that voter's registration record shall remain a public record. That voter's signed statement submitted under this subsection is a public record but shall be kept confidential as long as the protective order remains in effect or the voter remains a certified program participant in the Address Confidentiality Program. It is the responsibility of the voter to provide the county board with a copy of the valid protective order in effect or a current and valid Address Confidentiality Program authorization card issued pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 15C of the General Statutes. The voter's actual address shall be used for any election-related purpose by any board of elections. That voter's address shall be available for inspection by a law enforcement agency or by a person identified in a court order, if inspection of the address by that person is directed by that court order. It shall not be a violation of this section if the address of a voter who is participating in the Address Confidentiality Program is discovered by a member of the public in public records disclosed by a county board of elections prior to December 1, 2001. Addresses required to be kept confidential by this section shall not be made available to the jury commission under the provisions of G.S. 9-2. The county board shall require each person to whom a list is furnished to reimburse the board for the actual cost incurred in preparing it, except as provided in subsection (d) of this section. Actual cost for the purpose of this section shall not include the cost of any equipment or any imputed overhead expenses. When furnishing information under this subsection to a purchaser on a magnetic medium provided by the county board or the purchaser, the county board may impose a service charge of up to twenty-five dollars ($25.00). History (1901, c. 89, s. 83; Rev., s. 4382; C.S., s. 6016; 1931, c. 80; 1939, c. 263, s. 31/2; 1949, c. 916, ss. 6, 7; 1953, c. 843; 1955, c. 800; 1959, c. 883; 1963, c. 303, s. 1; 1965, c. 1116, s. 1; 1967, c. 775, s. 1; 1973, c. 793, ss. 22, 25; 1975, c. 12; c. 395; 1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1242; 1981, c. 39, s. 1; c. 87, s.1; c. 308, s. 1; c. 656; 1983, c. 218, ss. 1, 2; 1985, c. 211, ss. 1, 2; c. 472, s. 1; 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 762, s. 2; 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 688, s. 2; 2001-396, s. 1; 2002-171, s. 8; 2003-226, ss. 2, 3; 2003-278, s. 6; 2004-127, s. 17(c); 2005-428, s. 10(a), (b); 2007-391, s. 19; 2008-187, s. 33(a); 2009-541, s. 12; 2011-182, s. 9; 2015-241, s. 14.30(s); 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b); 2019-239, s. 1.1(c).) Cross References. - As to the use and confidential nature of actual addresses of Address Confidentiality Program participants by boards of elections for election-related purposes, see G.S. 15C-8 . Editor's Note. - This section was recodified as now former G.S. 163A-871 by Session Laws 2017-6, s. 3. Former G.S. 163A-871 was then re-recodified as this section by Session Laws 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), effective January 31, 2019. The historical citation from the former section has been added to this section as re-recodified. Session Laws 2003-226, s. 1, provides: "The purpose of this act is to ensure that the State of North Carolina has a system for all North Carolina elections that complies with the requirements for federal elections set forth in the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252, 116 Stat. 1666 (2002), codified at 42 U.S.C. §§ 15481-15485. "The General Assembly finds that the education and training of election officials as required by G.S. 163-82.34 has met and continues to meet the mandate for the education and training of precinct officials and other election officials in section 254(a)(3) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002. The General Assembly further finds that the establishment, development, and continued operation of the statewide list maintenance program for voter registration set forth in G.S. 163-82.14 has met and continues to meet the mandates of section 303(a)(2) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002. "In certain other areas of the election statutes and other laws, the General Assembly finds that the statutes must be amended to comply with the Help America Vote Act." Subsections (b) and (c), as rewritten by Session Laws 2005-428, ss. 10(a) and (b), effective September 22, 2005, are applicable to all primaries and elections held on or after that date. Session Laws 2007-391, s. 1(c), was amended by Session Laws 2008-198, s. 33(a), to eliminate any confusion as to the effective dates of the 2007 act. Session Laws 2007-391, s. 20, is effective August 19, 2007. Session Laws 2018-146, s. 3.1(b), effective January 31, 2019, repealed Session Laws 2017-6, s. 3, which had recodified this section. Session Laws 2019-239, s. 1.6, provides: "Rule Making. - The State Board of Elections shall adopt emergency rules for the implementation of this Part in accordance with G.S. 150B-21.1 A. This section does not require any rule making if not otherwise required by law." Session Laws 2019-239, s. 7, made the amendment to this section by Session Laws 2019-239, s. 1.1(c), effective January 1, 2020, and applicable to elections conducted on or after that date. Session Laws 2019-239, s. 5.12, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2019-2021 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this Part apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2019-2021 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2019-239, s. 5.14, is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2003-226, ss. 2 and 3, rewrote subsection (a); and added subsection (a1). See editor's note for effective date and applicability. Session Laws 2004-127, s. 17(c), effective June 1, 2005, in subsection (a), inserted "dates of birth" in the third, fourth and fifth sentences; added the third and fourth sentences in subsection (b); in subdivision (b)(2), substituted "but not" for "or," and deleted "or both" after "birth,"; and inserted "age but not" after "gender," in the paragraph following subdivision (c)(2). Session Laws 2007-391, s. 19, effective August 19, 2007, rewrote subsection (a). Session Laws 2009-541, s. 12, effective August 28, 2009, in subsection (a), added the present second sentence, and deleted the former last sentence, which read: "The county board of elections shall maintain custody of any paper hard copy registration records of voters in the county and shall keep them in a place where they are secure." Session Laws 2011-182, s. 9, effective January 1, 2012, inserted "any electronic mail address submitted under Article 21A of this Chapter" in the fourth sentence of subsection (a). Session Laws 2015-241, s. 14.30(s), effective July 1, 2015, substituted "Department of Natural and Cultural Resources" for "Department of Cultural Resources" in the second sentence of subsection (a). Session Laws 2019-239, s. 1.1(c), deleted "of Elections" following "State Board" twice in the second sentence of subsection (a); in present subsection (a1), added the subsection (a1) designation and rewrote the existing provision; and, in present subsection (a2), added the subsection (a2) designation, added "Voter Signatures. -" at the beginning and inserted "whether held by the State Board or a county board of elections" in the first sentence. For effective date and applicability, see editor's note. Legal Periodicals. - For comment, "Applying Risk Regulation Principles to New Public Policy Domains: A Case Study on Voter Identification Laws," see 48 Wake Forest L. Rev. 515 (2013). Opinions of Attorney General Editor's Note. - The opinions below were rendered under prior law. Loose-Leaf Registration Required in Municipality Where Local Act Contains No Provisions Regarding Registration. - See opinion of Attorney General to Mr. Herman Edwards, Murphy Town Attorney, 40 N.C.A.G. 465 (1970). County Board of Commissioners Must Provide Adequate Funds to Ensure That Registration Records Are Kept in a Safe Place. - See opinion of Attorney General to Mr. Alex K. Brock, Executive Secretary, State Board of Elections, 40 N.C.A.G. 76 (1969). Duty to Keep Social Security Numbers Confidential. - Social Security account numbers appearing on voter registration application cards maintained in the offices of county boards of elections and obtained since 1974 without the disclosure required by the Privacy Act of 1974 must be kept confidential. See opinion of Attorney General to Sheila Stafford Pope, General Counsel, Secretary of State, N.C. General Assembly, 1999 N.C.A.G. 19 (6/24/99).