Buncombe elections board sustains 30 deceased-voter challenges and removes registrations

The Buncombe County Board of Elections on May 19 sustained 30 challenges alleging that specific registered voters were deceased and instructed staff to remove those registrations from the voter roll.

Staff told the board the challenges were filed on March 10 and a preliminary hearing in April found sufficient evidence to proceed to a full hearing. Staff confirmed that none of the listed individuals had cast votes after their recorded death dates; two names had already been removed prior to the hearing based on staff research. The board split the review of the challenged records among members for examination of supporting evidence and then reconvened to take action. After staff summarized their findings, a board member moved to remove the listed names from the registration rolls “as presented by staff”; the motion was seconded and the board voted in favor.

Staff said the removals will be entered into the statewide system and the documentation for each challenged record will be placed in the voter record. Board members also discussed a concurrent state effort: the State Board of Elections is conducting a pilot audit on deceased-voter removals and staff noted Buncombe County was selected for that audit; further guidance from the state may follow.

Why it matters: Maintaining accurate voter rolls is a statutory duty and part of election integrity procedures. Counties use death records and other data to identify registrants who should be removed; the state pilot audit will examine the process more broadly.

Next steps: Staff will document the removals as “challenge sustained” in the system and preserve supporting evidence. Board members asked staff to monitor any forthcoming state guidance tied to the pilot audit.