The North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) announced that it had identified approximately 34,000 deceased individuals listed on the state’s voter rolls. The finding resulted from a data comparison with the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database, which was conducted as part of efforts to verify voter eligibility.
On April 17, 2026, the State Board submitted 7,397,734 voter records to the SAVE system, which is operated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in coordination with the Social Security Administration. The comparison primarily aimed to identify any non-U.S. citizens on the rolls but also revealed other discrepancies, including records of deceased individuals.
“While we expected to find some cases, this is higher than we anticipated. The benefit of entering into cross-state and federal database checks is that it allows us to uncover issues like this. Our goal is to use every available and legal tool at our disposal to achieve the most accurate voter rolls possible,” executive director Sam Hayes said in an official statement.
“Now, we must roll up our sleeves and begin the hard work to act of verifying that every person registered to vote in North Carolina is eligible. Our team, along with our state and federal will do what’s necessary to meet this responsibility.”
List maintenance is described as a routine function required for compliance with state and federal law. North Carolina already receives weekly death reports from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services for in-state deaths, which county boards use to remove registrations.
The SAVE match primarily helps identify cases where former North Carolina residents moved out of state and later died elsewhere, information not always received through standard state channels. The NCSBE further emphasized that the presence of these records on the rolls does not necessarily indicate that illegal votes were cast in the names of the deceased.
Following the identifications, the board vowed to stated it will follow established procedures to verify the flagged records. This includes additional cross-checks with state and federal databases and providing due process before any removals.
County boards of elections will then handle cancellations in accordance with state and federal requirements.
“Voter roll maintenance is a core component of election integrity, and it starts with effective management. The State Board of Elections is leading on voter roll cleanup, getting work done quickly and efficiently. This marks another positive step toward ensuring our state has secure elections, where only eligible voters are casting ballots,” said State Auditor Dave Boliek.
