Prosecutors assessing whether to charge former US Rep. Mark Meadows following probe into NC voting activity

North Carolina investigators began looking into Meadows' voting activity after news reports raised questions about the former congressman's residency and voter registration.

Posted 6:23 p.m. Dec 13, 2022 — Updated 10:41 p.m. Dec 13, 2022

Bryan Anderson

, WRAL state government reporter

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina prosecutors will determine whether to pursue criminal charges against Mark Meadows, a former congressman in the state who left office to become then-President Donald Trump’s chief of staff.

Meadows voted in North Carolina’s 2020 general election. He was registered to vote in the state using an address of a rented western North Carolina mobile home. But he purportedly never stayed at the property, according to the former owner of the Scaly Mountain property. Documents obtained through a public records request show Meadows asked for absentee ballots in that election to be delivered to an address in the Washington, D.C., area.

State law says voter registration applications must be accurate and that residency refers to “where you physically live.” A voter who purposefully provides inaccurate information could be subject to several months of jail time if found guilty.

Following news reports raising questions about whether Meadows committed voter fraud, the office of Attorney General Josh Stein requested the State Bureau of Investigation to look into the matter.

Former NC congressman registered to vote in home where he purportedly never stayed

In April, local elections officials removed Meadows from the voter rolls after discovering the former congressman voted in Virginia in 2021. Meadows was also reportedly registered to vote simultaneously in a third state, South Carolina.

Meadows has been one of the biggest skeptics of President Joe Biden’s legitimate 2020 electoral victory. On the 2020 campaign trail, Meadows made comments discrediting the mail-in voting process. Ben Williamson, a spokesman for Meadows, declined to comment.

The SBI on Tuesday announced it handed the voter fraud case over to Stein’s office in early November. The SBI declined to provide the case file to WRAL, saying it wasn’t a public record due to the active criminal investigation.

“Prosecutors with the AG’s Office will determine whether criminal charges are appropriate, not the SBI,” the state investigative bureau said in a statement. “Because the case is now pending a decision by the AG’s Office, no additional information is available.”

Nazneen Ahmed, a spokeswoman for Stein, said the AG's office is still reviewing the case file.

"Our office has received the NCSBI file," Ahmed said in a statement. "Because this is an ongoing matter, we are unable to comment further."

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