Board of Elections opens investigation into voter registration forms found on sidewalk

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Board of Elections has opened an investigation after hundreds of voter registration forms were found blowing around on the sidewalk in north Raleigh last week.

According to the Board of Elections website, one was invalid and the other two were registered voters. ABC11 was able to contact one of the voters, who did not want to reveal her name.

She said she completed the form with a nonprofit group at the Southgate Plaza Food Lion.

We reached out to the nonprofit she said she completed her form with and have yet to hear back. So, we reached out to the Wake County League of Women Voters to learn more about their process.

"We've been around 104 years, so we do we know voter engagement, voter outreach and have done this for many, many years," said Cheryl Tung of Wake County League of Women Voters (LWV).

Tung said they closely follow the Board of Elections (BOE) guidelines on how to register voters. The guidelines are posted publicly, click here for more information.

Per protocol, if someone fills out a voter registration form with the LWV, they turn the forms into a BOE office within five days of the getting the information.

"We do not retain any information. We don't take any information off of the forms. We turn them in promptly after the event," Tung said.

In fact, it's illegal to retain a voter's personal information if it's not fully redacted. It's a class 2 misdemeanor and can even carry 60 days of jail time and a fine.

If you've filled out a form at a public outreach event to register to vote, you can always double check that you are actually registered by checking the BOE website. You can register and vote same day during early voting, but you cannot register the same day and vote on Election Day.

To learn more about how to register to vote in North Carolina, click here.