The North Carolina State Board of Elections announced that it had identified roughly 34,000 deceased individuals remaining on the state's voter rolls. The finding emerged from a review of 7,397,734 voter records submitted to the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database on April 17.

Officials conducted the check primarily to verify voter citizenship status by cross-referencing names, dates of birth, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Social Security Administration. The discovery of deceased registrants represented an unexpected byproduct, as the SAVE system flagged matches indicating death records.

"While we expected to find some cases, this is higher than we anticipated," said Sam Hayes, executive director of the State Board of Elections. "The benefit of entering into cross-state and federal database checks is that it allows us to uncover issues like this," Hayes emphasized the board's commitment to using all legal tools for accurate rolls and pledged to verify the records before removals.

North Carolina maintains voter rolls through weekly updates from the Department of Health and Human Services for in-state deaths handled at the county level. However, the SAVE check revealed gaps, particularly for voters who registered in the state, moved elsewhere, and died out of state. The board will now work with county boards to confirm the matches through additional databases and provide due process before any cancellations, in line with state and federal law.

Officials stressed that the presence of deceased names does not indicate illegal votes were cast. List maintenance remains a routine function to comply with legal requirements. In 2025, the state removed 500,000 ineligible voters through biennial efforts.

The review aligns with broader election integrity initiatives under the Trump administration, which has pursued lawsuits against states including North Carolina, for voter roll inaccuracies and enhanced SAVE access. State Auditor Dave Boliek, who appoints board members under recent statutory changes, called the step "another positive step toward ensuring our state has secure elections."

Experts noted the findings underscore maintenance challenges. Dr. Andy Jackson of the John Locke Foundation's Civitas Center said such checks are crucial, as deceased names typically linger eight to 10 years without federal database aid. The Republican National Committee highlighted the results as validation for federal pushes to clean rolls nationwide.

This effort also supports new state rules for challenging potential noncitizen registrations flagged by SAVE, amid stalled federal legislation like the SAVE America Act passed by the House.