A North Carolina attorney is warning residents about proposed election rules that could allow officials to challenge voter registrations using a federal immigration verification database.
Attorney Yolanda Trotman raised concerns in a video shared on Instagram, urging residents of North Carolina to submit public comments regarding rule changes currently under consideration by the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
According to Trotman, the proposals would involve the use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to identify potential issues with voter registrations.
Proposed Rule Changes
The SAVE system is a federal database operated by the Department of Homeland Security and is primarily designed to verify immigration status for individuals seeking certain public benefits.
Under the rules being considered by the state election board, the database could be used as part of a process to flag voter registrations for review if questions arise about eligibility.
Trotman said voters whose registrations are flagged could receive notification and be required to verify their eligibility within a specific timeframe.
“If you get the one letter that they’re going to send you, you have to cure it within a certain amount of time or you’re going to be completely removed from the voter rolls,” she said in the video.
Concerns About Reliability
Trotman also questioned the reliability of the SAVE system for election administration purposes.
“The problem with this particular database is that the Board of Elections has already said it is unreliable,” she said.
Critics of using the system for voter verification have argued that discrepancies between databases—such as name variations or outdated records—could lead to eligible voters being mistakenly flagged.
Public Comment Process
The attorney encouraged residents to participate in the public comment process before the board makes a final decision on the proposed rules.
She directed viewers to a webpage hosted by Democracy North Carolina that links directly to the Board of Elections’ comment portal, where individuals can submit feedback on each proposed rule.
According to Trotman, the process requires basic information such as a name, email address, and a written comment.
Broader Legal Context
Election officials across the United States have increasingly explored database cross-checking systems as part of efforts to maintain accurate voter rolls. However, such systems have also drawn scrutiny from voting rights advocates and election law experts who warn that inaccurate data matching could result in improper voter removals.
The proposed rules remain under review by the North Carolina State Board of Elections as public feedback is collected ahead of the board’s final determination.
