North Carolina § 163-82 - 11. Establishment of statewide computerized voter registration.

§ 163-82. 11. Establishment of statewide computerized voter registration.

Statewide System as Official List. - The State Board of Elections shall develop and implement a statewide computerized voter registration system to facilitate voter registration and to provide a central database containing voter registration information for each county. The system shall serve as the single system for storing and managing the official list of registered voters in the State. The system shall serve as the official voter registration list for the conduct of all elections in the State. The system shall encompass both software development and purchasing of the necessary hardware for the central and distributed-network systems. Uses of Statewide System. - The State Board of Elections shall develop and implement the system so that each county board of elections can do all the following: Verify that an applicant to register in its county is not also registered in another county. Be notified automatically that a registered voter in its county has registered to vote in another county. Receive automatically data about a person who has applied to vote at a drivers license office or at another public agency that is authorized to accept voter registration applications. Compliance With Federal Law. - The State Board of Elections shall update the statewide computerized voter registration list and database to meet the requirements of section 303(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and to reflect changes when citizenship rights are restored under G.S. 13-1. Role of County and State Boards of Elections. - Each county board of elections shall be responsible for registering voters within its county according to law. Each county board of elections shall maintain its records by using the statewide computerized voter registration system in accordance with rules promulgated by the State Board of Elections. Each county board of elections shall enter through the computer system all additions, deletions, and changes in its list of registered voters promptly to the statewide computer system. Cooperation on List for Jury Commission. - The State Board of Elections shall assist the Division of Motor Vehicles in providing to the county jury commission of each county, as required by G.S. 20-43.4, a list of all registered voters in the county and all persons in the county with drivers license records. The list of registered voters provided by the State Board of Elections shall not include any registered voter who has been inactive for eight years or more. History (1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 762, s. 2; 2003-226, s. 6; 2007-512, s. 4; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).) Editor's Note. - This section was recodified as now former G.S. 163A-874 by Session Laws 2017-6, s. 3. Former G.S. 163A-874 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 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 769, ss. 16 and 16.1, provided for a needs assessment and requirements analysis for computerized voter registration, Session Laws 1995, c. 507, s. 13.2 provided for the promulgation of rules for a statewide computerized voter registration system, and Session Laws 1997-443, s. 31, provided for a statewide data elections management system to prescribe data format, data communication, and data content standards. 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." Session Laws 2018-146, s. 3.1(b), effective January 31, 2019, repealed Session Laws 2017-6, s. 3, which had recodified this section. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2007-512, s. 4, effective October 1, 2007, added the last sentence in subsection (e).