Just one week after its vote for a plan requiring voters with “incomplete” information to provide it or be required to cast provisional ballots, attorneys for the NC State Board of Elections (NCSBE) filed in federal court a proposed settlement with the Trump Administration of its lawsuit demanding a similar action. Justice Department attorneys representing the Trump position joined in filing the settlement proposal, which must still be approved by the federal judge overseeing the case.

The settlement represents a mixed bag of results for voting rights. On the negative side, it continues the state’s plan to require voters to “cure” their supposedly defective registrations, despite the fact that many of those challenged voters were the victims of sloppy record-keeping by the NCSBE or local boards. On the positive side, it includes a mandate that provisional ballots by all the challenged voters who are eligible to vote under federal law be counted in federal election contests whether or not they are discounted for state or local contests. Voters who are required to cast provisional ballots under this plan also cannot have their state voter registrations cancelled as a result. Advocates for voting rights involved in the case demanded that these provisions be a part of any settlement.

“Though there is still work to be done to ensure that North Carolina voters’ voices are heard in state and local elections, this is a huge victory,” Dan Freeman, a Democratic National Committee litigation director, said in a Statement. 

NCLCV actively supports the protection of voting rights as a part of its organizational mission, since voting is an essential part of the ability of the people to hold their leaders accountable for decisions impacting their health and their environment.