The Republican National Committee is celebrating a major victory for clean elections after a Wake County Superior Court judge ruled that North Carolina’s State Board of Elections violated the state constitution by letting people who have never lived in the Tar Heel State cast ballots in federal elections.
Special Superior Court Judge Hoyt Tessener sided with the RNC and North Carolina Republican Party this week, slamming the door on a loophole the previous Democrat-controlled elections board tried to keep open even after higher courts already shut it down for state races, according to Carolina Journal.
This is the latest in a string of wins for election integrity in North Carolina, and a direct rebuke to officials who thought they could quietly expand voting rights to non-residents.
Judge Tessener reaffirmed what the North Carolina Court of Appeals and Supreme Court had already made crystal clear: the state constitution requires residency to vote.
“Never residents” — U.S. citizens born abroad to parents or guardians who once lived in North Carolina but who themselves have never resided in the state — have no constitutional right to help pick North Carolina’s representatives in Congress or influence federal elections here.
The previous Democrat-led State Board of Elections had issued a directive allowing these never-residents to vote in both state and federal elections.
After the state Supreme Court struck down the practice for state and local races, the board stopped counting those ballots for state offices… but kept allowing them for federal contests.
The RNC and NCGOP, who brought the lawsuit, are rightly celebrating the ruling as a common-sense restoration of constitutional order.
Wait I was told this never happened? https://t.co/KpY5fa1k91
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) May 27, 2026
ELECTION INTEGRITY WIN!
Never Resident voting is officially UNCONSTITUTIONAL. The ruling from a Wake County judge confirms the common sense principle only North Carolina citizens can vote in North Carolina elections. #NCPOL pic.twitter.com/SYqsuYTb9n
— NCGOP (@NCGOP) May 27, 2026
According to the press release:
The Republican National Committee (RNC) secured a legal victory after a North Carolina court ruled a state board of elections directive that a state law allowing certain individuals who have never resided in the state to register to vote was unconstitutional.
“This is a clear win for fair and lawful elections,” said RNC Chairman Joe Gruters. “The court upheld the North Carolina Constitution and made clear that only North Carolina residents can vote in the state. The RNC will keep fighting to ensure only eligible citizens can vote.”
On Background:
- Yesterday, the Wake County Superior Court ruled that the North Carolina Board of Elections violated the state constitution by allowing individuals who were born overseas and have never lived in North Carolina to vote in federal elections in the state.
- The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled last year in Griffin v North Carolina Board of Elections that people who have never lived in the state cannot vote in state elections.
- After the State Supreme Court’s decision, the North Carolina Board of Elections stopped allowing non-residents to vote for state offices but continued to allow them to vote in federal elections.
- The RNC brought the case to make sure only North Carolina residents can vote in the state’s elections. The North Carolina Supreme Court’s decision was clear: individuals who do not live—and have never lived—in North Carolina are not allowed to choose who represents the people of the state.
- The court’s ruling does not affect voters who qualify under the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), which applies to U.S. citizens who have previously lived in a state or who are currently serving overseas.
BREAKING The RNC just secured another election integrity win in North Carolina stopping non-residents from voting in state elections. pic.twitter.com/BMSPNeHQ5w
— RNC Election Integrity (@RNCVoteProtect) May 27, 2026
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