NC Board Stops Free Voter Form Printing, Groups Worry

0:00In Durham, it's March 20th. Here's what is happening. North Carolina State Board of Elections has stopped supplying free physical voter registration forms to groups running registration drives. In late February, they told county boards to use up their existing stock and print no more for organizations. The board still provides forms to individuals, but groups now handle their own printing costs. This move aims to save taxpayer money in a digital era. Last year, the board printed nearly 1.3 million forms for drives and agencies, costing more than $269,000, plus shipping and staff time. Officials point to high demand during a busy presidential election year when forms change several times. Voter groups like the League of Women Voters, you can vote, and Democracy North Carolina worry it will limit access, especially for smaller outfits, without big budgets. Printing special double-sided, color-coded forms runs about $1.50 each. They argue as shifts too much burden, and overlooks recent board spending on projects

1:02like fixing missing voter data for over 100,000 people. The board defends the change as legal, since forms are free online and sent to counties. They're drafting new rules for drives to cut waste and fraud, like tracking who collects forms. Officials know many submitted forms go unused or contain fake info, with one case now under investigation. While groups push back on federal law grounds and explore workarounds like online registration, the board shows no rush to resume book printing, focusing instead on these guardrails to streamline the process.