Frequently Asked Questions

There are several ways an existing voter can make changes to their voter registration record.

• Address and party changes may be made online through the DMV.
• Make changes on your voter registration card and mail it back to our office.
• Complete a Voter Registration Application (PDF) and return it by mail, email, or fax.

If a resident has lived in Brunswick County for 30 days prior to the election and misses the voter registration deadline, they may go to any early voting site to register and vote the same day. The individual will be required to provide acceptable proof of residence before they can become registered. The Notice to Same Day Registrants (PDF) provides more details, including a list of acceptable proof of residence documents. Same-day registration is only available during one-stop early voting; it is not available on election day.

To remove your own registration, use the Voter Registration Cancellation Form (PDF).

To remove a voter due to death, please download and complete the Notification of Deceased Voter Form (PDF). This form may only be completed by a near relative or personal representative of the deceased voter's estate.

Either of these forms can be returned to our office via mail, faxed to 910-253-2618, or by email to the Board of Elections.

Pursuant to N.C.G.S. section 163-82.10 and Chapter 132 of the General Statutes, the State Board of Elections is required to make most voter information available to the public. All voter registration information is public record except for full or partial social security numbers, dates of birth, driver's license numbers, the identity of the public agency at which the voter registered under N.C.G.S. section 163-82.20, and the email address of a military-overseas voter. Additionally, your signature may only be viewed by the public and cannot be copied or traced.

Note: Third parties often access and use publicly available voter registration data for various purposes, and the agency has no authority to control their use of publicly available information.

According to N.C.G.S. section 163-82.10(e), a voter's address will be kept confidential if a registered voter submits to the county board of elections either 1) a copy of a 50B protective order; 2) a restraining order; or 3) a current and valid Address Confidentiality Program authorization card issued according to the provisions of Chapter 15C of the General Statutes, along with a signed statement that the voter has good reason to believe that the physical safety of the voter or a member of the voter's family residing with the voter would be jeopardized if the voter's address was open to public inspection. To find out whether you are eligible to have your information withheld from the public under the Address Confidentiality program, please visit Address Confidentiality, NCDOJ.

In North Carolina, many laws and processes work together to ensure that only qualified U.S. citizens cast ballots in elections. They include the following:

• The first question on the N.C. voter registration application, as required by state and federal laws, includes the following language: “Are you a citizen of the United States of America? If you checked ‘No’ in response to this citizenship question, do not submit this form. You are not qualified to vote.”
• Individuals registering to vote must sign the application, under penalty of perjury, that they are U.S. citizens. The language above the signature box states: “Fraudulently or falsely completing this form is a Class I felony under Chapter 163 of the N.C. General Statutes.”
• Most N.C. voters register either in-person at NCDMV offices when they apply for other services or through the NCDMV’s online voter registration application. Every first-time NCDMV customer is asked whether they are a U.S. citizen. If they answer “No,” they are not offered voter registration services at the end of the transaction. To use the online voter registration service, an individual must first enter their driver’s license or DMV-issued ID card number, Social Security number and date of birth. Only individuals who have been vetted previously in an NCDMV office can register or update their registration online.
• A new state law, which took effect July 1, 2024, requires clerks of superior court across the state to provide lists of voters who request to be excused from jury duty because they claimed they were not U.S. citizens. The State Board then compares those names with the voter rolls to determine whether any of those individuals are registered to vote. In August, court clerks provided the first set of data to the State Board, which matched them with the voter rolls. Nine individuals matched statewide. If a check of state and federal databases does not show any of those nine individuals have obtained citizenship, the State Board will send them letters informing the registrants of the agency’s findings and invite them, if not U.S. citizens, to cancel their registrations to comply with the law. See page 26 of the North Carolina Voter Registration List Maintenance Guide (PDF) for more information on this effort.
• Specifically, Certain acts declared felonies (N.C.G.S. § 163-275(13)) makes it a felony to register to vote or vote if a person is not a U.S. citizen.
• Section 1 of the application instructions accompanying the N.C. voter registration application includes language specifying that the applicant “must be a citizen of the United States.” The voter registration application and instructions are available in English and Spanish.
• Every voter, whether they vote in person or mail an absentee ballot, must sign an application to vote on which they certify that they are U.S. citizens. Fraudulently or falsely completing that application is a Class I felony.
• Each voting site must include posters in English and Spanish that include the language: “By signing your voter form today, you certify: You are a U.S. citizen. Non-citizens, including lawful permanent residents (‘green card’ holders), are not eligible to vote.”
• Any registered voter of a county may challenge the right of any person to register in the same county if that person has a valid basis to believe the registrant is not a U.S. citizen. Please see the Voter Challenge Procedures Guide (PDF) for additional information.
• The State Board of Elections’ website, ncsbe.gov, which can be translated into 15 languages other than English using the “Select Language” button on the website, contains information about voting eligibility in multiple places.

As for voter registration processes, here’s a VR application: NC Voter Registration Application in English (fillable PDF). You will see that registrants must provide their date of birth and their driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number. These numbers are validated against data from the Division of Motor Vehicles and/or the Social Security Administration.

There is no comprehensive, accurate, or up-to-date database of U.S. citizens that election administrators could use for verification purposes. However, if election officials learn that a non-U.S. citizen registers and/or votes in an election, the Investigations Division of the State Board of Elections will investigate. If warranted by the evidence, the State Board will forward that investigation to prosecutors for review and possible prosecution at the prosecutor’s discretion. Typically, there are very few, if any, cases of noncitizen registration or voting referred for prosecution statewide each year, which demonstrates how infrequent it is for noncitizens to register or vote.