Agenda - 10-21-2008 - 3a - Laserfiche WebLink

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dM~STw7po ~~~ ~~~~ STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS 6400 Mail Service Center ~ Raleigh, North Cazolina 27699-6400 GARY O. BARTLETT Executive Director Mailing Address: P.O. BOX 27255 RALEIGH, NC 27611-7255 (919) 733-7173 FAX (919) 715-0135 PRESS RELEASE -October 8, 2008 CONTACT: Gary O. Bartlett, Executive Director, 919-715-1827 In today's New York Times, reprinted in The News and Observer, a story appeared about voter registration that lumped North Carolina in with other states that were allegedly following incorrect procedures that might prejudice voters in the November elections. Although no specific irregularities were mentioned with respect to North Carolina, the articles contend that voters here may be disenfranchised. This is simply untrue. No reporter for either publication contacted any one in this office to verify North Carolina's procedures. Nor did the Commissioner of the Social Secut7tyAdministration contact us before 'he released his allegations that North Carolina may be preventing voters from registering; instead he sent a letter to the Secretary of State, who does not administer elections in North Carolina, and we had to obtain a copy from a national organization. The problem with these stories is they undermine the public's confidence in North Carolina's elections. Our processes have been reviewed by both major presidential campaigns, reviewed and precleared by the U.S. Department of Justice, and by independent advocacy organizations such as Democracy North Carolina. These are the processes we use to assure every qualified voter is permitted to register and vote in this State: The Social Security number Match is only one of the tools we use to verify a voter's identity. Applicants to register to vote are asked to provide their driver's license number, and if they do not have one, then the last four digits of their Social Security number. Pursuant to an agreement between the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles and the Social Security Administration, an applicant's information is automatically processed to verify the numbers provided by the voter. The State of North Carolina reimburses the Social Security Administration for each verification transaction. The vast majority of voters are verified by their driver's license number. This office is well aware that the Social Security database was never intended to be used for this type of identification process -but it was mandated by Help America Vote Act and implemented in North Carolina. It is a tool for those voters who do not have North Carolina driver's license numbers. However, if a voter registers and their information is incomplete or the number or numbers they provide do not match, there are several safeguards in place to assure that no qualified voter is