VOTING RIGHTS
License Suspension Data
In 2018, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of North Carolina, and Southern Coalition for Social Justice challenged the North Carolina DMV’s practice of automatically suspending the licenses of individuals who could not afford to pay traffic fines and court costs.
In 2022, a federal court approved a settlement that requires the DMV to provide drivers with written notice about their right to request a court hearing to prevent or stop a license suspension if they are unable to pay outstanding traffic fines and court costs. DMV had not previously informed drivers of the option to have these costs waived or reduced when attempting to collect them.
The settlement also required the DMV to compile and share certain data concerning its suspension processes, including the number of new notices sent to drivers, the number of drivers who were able to prevent or end their suspension, and the number of overall new suspensions. This fact sheet analyzes that data.
