North Carolina HB 1231: No Voter Registration Changes At DMV.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 1231

Short Title: No Voter Registration Changes At DMV. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Ward, Loftis, and Howard (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
May 12, 2026
*H1231-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO ELIMINATE THE ABILITY TO UPDATE EXISTING VOTER 2
REGISTRATION ON THE DIVISION OF MOTOR VEHICLES' (DMV) WEBSITE OR 3
AT DMV PHYSICAL LOCATIONS AND REQUIRE THAT CHANGES BE MADE AT 4
COUNTY BOARDS OF ELECTIONS. 5
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 6
SECTION 1. G.S. 163-82.19 reads as rewritten: 7
"§ 163-82.19. Voter registration at drivers license offices; coordination on data interface. 8
(a) Voter Registration at Drivers License Offices. – The Division of Motor Vehicles 9
shall, pursuant to the rules adopted by the State Board of Elections, modify its forms so that any 10
eligible person who applies for original issuance, renewal or correction of a drivers license, or 11
special identification card issued under G.S. 20-37.7 may, on a part of the form, complete an 12
application to register to vote, or vote. A voter seeking to update the voter's registration if the 13
voter (i) has changed his or her address or moved from one precinct to another or from one county 14
to another. another or (ii) wants to change the voter's name or party affiliation, shall make those 15
changes at the appropriate county board of elections. The person taking the application shall ask 16
if the applicant is a citizen of the United States. If the applicant states that the applicant is not a 17
citizen of the United States, or declines to answer the question, the person taking the application 18
shall inform the applicant that it is a felony for a person who is not a citizen of the United States 19
to apply to register to vote. The application shall state in clear language the penalty for violation 20
of this section. The necessary forms shall be prescribed by the State Board of Elections. The form 21
must ask for the previous voter registration address of the voter, if any. If a previous address is 22
listed, and it is not in the county of residence of the applicant, the appropriate county board of 23
elections shall treat the application as an authorization to cancel the previous registration and also 24
process it as such under the procedures of G.S. 163-82.9. If a previous address is listed and that 25
address is in the county where the voter applies to register, the application shall be processed as 26
if it had been submitted under G.S. 163-82.9. 27
Registration shall become effective as provided in G.S. 163-82.7. Applications to register to 28
vote accepted at a drivers license office under this section until the deadline established in 29
G.S. 163-82.6(d)(2) shall be treated as timely made for an election, and no person who completes 30
an application at that drivers license office shall be denied the vote in that election for failure to 31
apply earlier than that deadline. 32
All applications shall be forwarded by the Department of Transportation to the appropriate 33
board of elections not later than five business days after the date of acceptance, according to rules 34

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 1231-First Edition
which shall be promulgated by the State Board of Elections. Those rules shall provide for a 1
paperless, instant, electronic transfer of applications to the appropriate board of elections. 2
...." 3
SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to changes in 4
voter registration occurring on or after that date. 5