Four illegal immigrant and four convicted felons have been indicted by a Brunswick County grand Jury for voter fraud.
District Attorney Jon David announced the indictments yesterday. Complaints from the Brunswick Board of Elections triggered an investigation by the state board, which handed the results over to David’s office.
The defendants are “of varying sex, race and political affiliations,” David said in a press release.
“A common thread which connects each of these defendants is that they are all
convicted felons whose voting rights have not been restored or illegal aliens” said
David. “Based on my review of the comprehensive investigation I felt a responsibility to act in an effort to protect the integrity of the electoral process. I want to commend Sheriff John Ingram and investigators with the state board of elections for their professionalism, thorough work product, and
their shared commitment to combat voter fraud in Brunswick County.”
State officials said voter fraud happens but is rare in the state, in part due to safeguards in the system.
“We want to remind the public that incidents of unauthorized voting are neither widespread nor nonexistent,” the SBOE said in a press release.
Each voter’s information is checked through multiple sources, including the Department of Corrections, to ensure the individual either can cast a ballot or had their voting rights restored. Felons who have served their sentences and met other criteria can legally vote when their rights are restored by a court. Illegal aliens do not have voting rights in North Carolina.
