Duplicated Registrants Appear to Take Advantage of Multiple Ballots in 2016, 2018
(GREENSBORO, N.C.) – July 9, 2020: The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF)’s amicus brief filed in a federal lawsuit to strip North Carolina’s mail voter protections in 2020 was accepted by the court Wednesday.
The Foundation’s brief outlines how even with the modest integrity mechanisms in place, public election records demonstrate how duplicated voter registrants are credited for voting second ballots in a widespread pattern across the 2016 and 2018 General Elections.
Individual records show a substantial portion of credited second votes derive from a duplicated registrant apparently casting two absentee ballots for the same election. Stripped protections atop substandard voter rolls could only exacerbate these patterns in 2020.
“This is a widespread concern in North Carolina,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “We should be talking about how to strengthen our systems against misdeeds done out of the sight of election officials in 2020 instead of defending an imperfect system from total ruin. The plaintiffs are only raising the threat of worsening the settled fact that voter fraud is most common in the mail.”
North Carolina Voter Roll Audit Quick Facts
— # Apparently Duplicated Registrants Credited for 2nd Votes in 2016 General: 9,700
— # Apparently Duplicated Registrants Credited for Casting TWO Mail Ballots in 2016G: 5,000
— # Apparently Duplicated Registrants Credited for 2nd Votes in 2018 General: 7,000
— # Apparently Duplicated Registrants Credited for Casting TWO Mail Ballots in 2018G: 2,900
The brief attaches a letter to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, which also outlines the initial findings and seeks a time to cooperatively review data.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation is leading the nation in enforcing election integrity laws and the National Voter Registration Act, having brought cases in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maryland, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, and Maine and filed amicus briefs in litigation across the nation.
The Foundation is currently representing its client, Voter Integrity Project-NC, as a proposed intervenor in a separate federal lawsuit regarding election observer rights.
The litigation continues in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. The case number is 1:20-cv-00457. The attorney for the Public Interest Legal Foundation is Kaylan L. Phillips. Raleigh-based Joshua Howard of Grammon, Howard & Zeszotarski, PLLC serves as local counsel.
Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm dedicated to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections.
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