Tim Merrick is a chiropractor, small-business owner and member of the New Hanover County Board of Education in North Carolina. He joined the board in December 2024. He is the Democratic candidate for North Carolina House District 20 in 2026.
Case
Networked automated license-plate cameras can assemble searchable records of vehicle movements. Candidates and officials disagree over whether to ban the systems, keep them with limits, or defend them as investigative tools. This tracker separates outright bans from narrower restrictions.
Role at the time: Democratic candidate for North Carolina House District 20
Statement summary
North Carolina House candidate Tim Merrick said license-plate readers can help police, but he supports reducing the state's data-retention limit from 90 days to seven days, with exceptions for specific investigations and stronger access controls.
“License plate readers can be a valuable law-enforcement tool”
Merrick accepts the cameras as an investigative tool while conditioning their use on shorter retention and stronger controls over access, sharing and searches.
Statement dates: September 23, 2026
Statement dates: September 23, 2026
Statement dates: September 23, 2026
