Last week, the North Carolina Republican Party made one of the most massive public records requests in the state’s history.

The GOP sent a records request to all 100 county Register of Deeds offices asking for every death certificate of anyone who had died from early September until 10 days after the Tuesday, Nov. 8 election.

The state Republican party – via its legal counsel – also requested records of any communications regarding the deceased that were sent to, or came from, any election board in North Carolina – either from the NC Board of Elections or a county board of elections.

That move is being made to help prepare the party to challenge votes from races where there are concerns about dead voters and possibly concerns about election fraud.

Not every case of a deceased voter is a case of election fraud, of course.  The situation also arises when someone casts a vote by mail – or voted in person during the Early Voting process – and then dies before Election Day.

Guilford County Board of Elections Director Charlie Collicutt said votes from people who don’t live until election day may be challenged and those votes may then be removed from the count.

In response to questions, Collicutt wrote in an email to the Rhino Times, “If there is evidence that a voter died after casting an Early Vote or an Absentee-By-Mail vote, but before election day, then that ballot is challengeable and can be removed.”

Collicutt also said that, in the weeks leading up to the election, his office is constantly receiving updated information in this regard.

“There is a way for voters of the deceased voters’ precinct or the Board of Election to enter these challenges,” he wrote.  “We will be receiving data on deaths through this process.”