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VIA FIRST-CLASS AND ELECTRONIC MAIL

October 29, 2015


Terri Robertson, Director of Elections
Cumberland County Board of Elections
227 Fountainhead Lane
Fayetteville, NC 28301
boardofelections@co.cumberland.nc.us

Dear Ms. Robertson,

Demos has learned that you recently received a letter from True the Vote providing
lists of alleged potential duplicate voters and demanding that you take action to
remove them from your voter registration roll. Further, we understand that you
have already removed some or all of these voters from your voter roll.
We are concerned that any program that seeks to cancel purported duplicate voter
registration records may result in improper removal of eligible voters, in violation
of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA).
Section 8 of the NVRA prohibits the removal of a registrant except in specific,
enumerated circumstances. Relying on second-hand information to identify alleged
duplicate registrations is likely to lead to violations of this provision. Experience
has shown that without rigorous procedures in place, the voter registration records
of eligible voters are frequently misidentified as duplicate registrations and their
erroneous removal can result in disenfranchisement of these voters. Moreover,
such improper removals constitute violations of the NVRA. Your hasty action to
purge your voter roll of purported duplicates in response to unsubstantiated
information provided by a third party raises significant concerns that rigorous
procedures were not followed and that such violations may have occurred.
Accordingly, pursuant to Section 8(i) of the National Voter Registration Act, 52 U.S.C.
20507(i), and the North Carolina Public Records Law, N.C. Gen. Stat. 132-1, we
request the following public records for inspection:

Terri Robertson

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October 29, 2015

1. Records received from True the Vote including all correspondence and any
spreadsheets or other records detailing potential duplicate voter
registrations.
2. Records indicating all actions Cumberland County has taken in response to
True the Votes letter and list of potential duplicate voter registration
records, including efforts to analyze this list.
3. All correspondence or communications between Cumberland County on the
one hand, and True the Vote, Judicial Watch, the American Civil Rights Union,
or the Public Interest Legal Foundation on the other, sent or received
between January 1, 2010 and October 15, 2015.
4. Records indicating the processes, policies, or procedures Cumberland County
has followed in identifying the voter registration records that have been
canceled or removed as duplicates since receiving True the Votes list of
potential duplicate voter registration records.
5. Records of all voter registration records that have been canceled or removed
as duplicates between August 1, 2015 and October 15, 2015, including full
name, date of birth, address, drivers license number, last four digits of social
security number, and North Carolina-assigned voter identification number
listed on both the voter registration record that was canceled or removed
and the voter registration record or records identified as a duplicate of the
canceled or removed record.
6. Records that indicate Cumberland Countys processes, policies, or
procedures to comply with N.C. Gen. Stat. 163-82.14, including the process
for identifying which individuals will receive a confirmation mailing (as
described in N.C. Gen. Stat. 163-82.14) and how frequently confirmation
mailings are sent.
7. Records that indicate the names and voter registration information
(including date of birth, year of birth or age; address; state-assigned voter
identification number; voter history; registration date; and county of
residence) for individuals who have been sent such confirmation mailings
between January 1, 2012 and October 15, 2015, as well as:
a. A list of all persons who responded to the notice with an updated
address within Cumberland County;

Terri Robertson

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October 29, 2015

b. A list of all persons who responded to the notice with an updated


address in a different North Carolina county;
c. A list of all persons who responded to the notice with an updated
address outside of North Carolina; and
d. A list of all persons who have not responded to the notice and the date
each person was sent that notice.

8. Records that indicate the length of time between the time that an individual
is sent a confirmation card and the time that the same individual is removed
from the voter registration rolls.
9. Records that indicate the total number of voter registration address
confirmation cards returned as undeliverable from 2012 to present.
10. Records that indicate the total number of voter registration address
confirmation cards for which a forwarding address was provided by U.S.
Postal Service.
11. Records that describe or reflect Cumberland Countys voter roll listmaintenance policies, practices, and procedures.
12. Any manuals, guidelines, instructions, or other materials provided by the
State of North Carolina pertaining to voter roll maintenance.
13. A list of all persons who were removed from Cumberland Countys voter roll
between January 1, 2014 and October 15, 2015, including the following
information about each such registrant:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.

Full name
Date of birth, year of birth, or age
Address
North Carolina-assigned voter identification number
Registration date
County of residence
Date of removal
Reason for removal.

Terri Robertson

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October 29, 2015

14. Records containing demographic information for all persons who were
removed from Cumberland Countys voter roll between January 1, 2014 and
October 15, 2015, including the following information about each person:
a.
b.
c.
d.

Race
Ethnicity
Gender
Income level.

15. Records that indicate whether individuals voting in Cumberland County


pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. 163-82.15 are voting by regular or provisional
ballot.
16. Manuals, guidelines, instructions or other materials indicating Cumberland
Countys process for sending confirmation mailings to individuals who are
believed to be homeless or who designate a landmark (such as a corner or
park bench) on their voter registration application.
17. Records that indicate Cumberland Countys policies, practices, or procedures
for acting on a match identified through the interstate crosscheck program.
18. Any manuals, guidelines, instructions, or other materials provided by the
State of North Carolina pertaining to the interstate crosscheck program and
voter-roll maintenance.
Please provide the requested documents in electronic format, if possible. However,
if any materials are not available in electronic format, we request hard copies. We
request a waiver of any copying or production fees as the records will be used by a
non-profit, non-partisan public policy organization to benefit the general welfare.
Please advise us in advance of any charges for copying or production of the
requested documents. If you choose to deny this request, in whole or in part, please
provide a written explanation detailing why the request was denied pursuant to N.C.
Gen. Stat. 132-6.2(c).

Terri Robertson

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October 29, 2015

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. Thank you for your
assistance.
Respectfully,

Stuart C. Naifeh
Senior Counsel
Demos
220 Fifth Avenue, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10001
(212) 485-6055
snaifeh@demos.org

Cameron A. Bell
Legal Fellow
Demos
220 Fifth Avenue, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10001
(212) 485-6023
cbell@demos.org

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