City Council District C candidate Lent C. Carr II could face another charge if it’s determined that he lied about his citizenship rights restoration when filing for candidacy.
Federal marshals arrested Carr last week for violating parole from a 2000 fraud conviction.
According to Wake County Director of Elections Cherie Poucher, Carr stated he was convicted of a felony on his notice of candidacy. He indicated on the form that his conviction was from Pitt County and the date his citizenship rights were restored.
Poucher said that the Board has to decide whether any application information is false.
“They have to determine was he a felon at the time he filed and at the time he registered to vote,” Poucher said. “If anything on that voter application is false, that’s a Class I felony.”
Poucher said the candidacy form did not indicate whether the charges were state or federal.
Poucher said they do not check for a citizenship restoration letter at the time of filing.
However, the Wake County Elections Department checked his status with the North Carolina Department of Corrections, which “indicated that he was inactive.”
“But that was state. We did not know about the federal,” Poucher said of Carr’s charges.
Evidence on Carr’s citizenship rights and findings from the Board of Elections will be presented at the candidacy challenge hearing on Thursday.
“The difference in this type of hearing versus challenge to voter registration or something like that, the onus is on the candidate himself to prove that he is eligible,” Poucher said.
Officials say the hearing can occur without Carr’s presence.
