Author: Karen Brinson Bell, Executive Director
This numbered memo is not currently in effect and has been superseded by N.C. Supreme Court order. Read more: Statement on NC Supreme Court Order in Community Success Initiative v. Moore Case.
On Aug. 23, 2021, a three-judge panel of North Carolina Superior Court entered a preliminary injunction requiring that any person on community supervision (including parole, probation, or post-release supervision) for a felony conviction be permitted to register and vote. A written order has not yet been issued by the court. The court indicated that the order was to take effect as of today, Aug. 23, 2021.
This order means that any person who is serving a felony sentence outside the custody of a jail or prison for a state or federal felony conviction is eligible to register and vote as of today. Individuals who are in prison or jail for a felony conviction are not eligible to register and vote. Voters who were previously removed due to a felony conviction and are now eligible to register under the court order must still re-register to vote.
As background, on Sept. 4, 2020, a North Carolina Superior Court entered an injunction requiring that individuals serving an extended term of probation, parole, or post-release supervision solely because of outstanding monetary obligations (fines, fees, or restitution) be permitted to register and vote.1 Today’s order expands that injunction to people who were convicted in North Carolina state or federal court and are serving their sentence on community supervision, such as probation, post-release supervision, or parole.
An updated voter registration form is available on the State Board’s website. You may direct voters with questions about the order to the Notice of Restoration of Voting Rights to Individuals on Probation, Parole, or Post-Release Supervision for a Felony Conviction (PDF) on the State Board’s website and attached to this memo.
We are working with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety to process the data we receive from that agency so that the felon data provided to the county boards of elections will no longer include persons who are now eligible to register and vote. This data is used for automated list maintenance processes for denials and removals due to felony conviction flagged by SEIMS and for the Felony Conviction Reports found on the intranet.
Staff are working to update forms in SEIMS used for voter registration and in-person voting. If you have forms that you use outside of SEIMS or if your county does not use the standard forms provided by the State Board (e.g., ATV, One-Stop Application, etc.), you will need to update the language to reflect the new attestation on the voter registration form. A sample of the updated attestation is included here for reference. [Download PDF below to view image.]
The following forms are being updated in STEPPS: the ATV, One-Stop Application, Notice to Same-Day Registrants, and Provisional Application. Letters and notices, including the denial and removal letters, will also be updated in SEIMS.
1 Community Success Initiative v. Moore, No. 19 CVS 15941, Order on Inj. Relief at 10 (Wake Cty. Sup. Ct.).
↓ Restoration of Voting Rights of Felons on Community Supervision: Numbered Memo 2021-06 (PDF)