112-Year-Old Voters in North Carolina?

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112-Year-Old Voters in North Carolina?

Early voting began in North Carolina in October, and soon after almost 900 voters aged 112 reportedly cast ballots. In fact in 2008, almost 10,000 108-year olds cast ballots and just over 9,000 110-year olds voted in 2010.

Have this many centenarians actually been voting in North Carolina, or is this a sign of voter fraud as some have asked? Neither, according to the State Board of Elections.

The true explanation is much less exciting.

Prior to passage of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) in 1993, the state did not require those registering to provide their birth date. While most voters who registered before NVRA did provide birth dates, some did not. These voters were automatically assigned a default birth date of 01/01/1900 in the state’s voter rolls. So while these voters are still diligently voting, it is very doubtful they are 112 years old.

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