Cleaning up voter rolls comes with a price.
When I went to vote in the recent midterm elections, I got a surprise. After voting at the same fire station on Lakeland Drive for decades, I was told I couldn't vote.
My name was on the voter rolls, but something was wrong with my registration. The poll worker couldn't explain why. Nobody told me I could cast an affidavit ballot.
Frustrated, I went home.
My son convinced me to go back. After a little research, I discovered I could vote by affidavit ballot. I returned to the fire station, filled out a little paperwork and voted. It took only a couple of minutes.
Later, I checked the Secretary of State's website. My ballot had been accepted and counted. Problem solved.
But why did this happen in the first place?
I called Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson to find out. We ended up having a lengthy conversation about the challenges of maintaining accurate voter rolls.
Watson has been aggressively cleaning up Mississippi's voter rolls, and for good reason.
When he took office, seven Mississippi counties had more registered voters than voting-age residents. One county had registration exceeding 107 percent of its voting-age population.
That's ridiculous. Obviously, some people had moved away or died without being removed from the rolls.
Watson told me that 43 of Mississippi's 82 counties had registration exceeding 90 percent of their voting-age population. That number has since dropped into the twenties. Counties exceeding 100 percent have declined from seven to three.
That's substantial progress.
The problem is that cleaning up voter rolls inevitably creates some inconvenience for legitimate voters. I'm a perfect example.
For years, election officials relied heavily on the Postal Service's National Change of Address database to identify voters who moved.
But fewer people use that service anymore. With electronic communications replacing traditional mail, the database has become less useful.
Watson's office sought a better solution.
Working with the federal Election Assistance Commission, Mississippi tested commercial address information from Experian, one of the nation's major credit reporting companies.
A pilot program in Lafayette County helped clean up approximately 3,000 voter registrations.
The state subsequently expanded the program statewide, providing information to county election commissioners through Mississippi's statewide election management system.
Importantly, Watson cannot personally change anyone's voter registration status. That authority belongs to county election officials.
The commercial data simply flags potentially inaccurate information. County officials are supposed to verify it and follow legally required notification procedures before changing a voter's status.
Watson's office has since moved to another commercial data provider, IDI, which he believes will improve accuracy.
Nevertheless, mistakes and misunderstandings happen.
In my case, I moved a couple of blocks several years ago. I don't remember notifying election officials of my new address. I also frequently use my business address.
Any of those circumstances might have triggered a discrepancy.
Watson explained that my registration had been changed from active to inactive.
Here's the important point: Inactive does not mean you have lost your right to vote.
If you arrive at your polling place and discover your registration is inactive or otherwise questioned, you can request an affidavit ballot.
You can then verify that your affidavit ballot was accepted on the Secretary of State’s website. I did. My affidavit ballot was accepted and I was moved back to active status. Problem solved in minutes.
Election commissioners subsequently verify your eligibility. If everything checks out, your vote counts. The information you provide can also correct your registration and restore your active status.
That's exactly what happened to me.
Watson emphasized that affidavit voting is the safety net protecting legitimate voters from errors in the system.
Unfortunately, my poll workers didn't explain that option. Watson agreed they should have.
The controversy over voter rolls has exploded during these midterms, with accusations from both political parties about election manipulation.
Interestingly, Mississippi had two earlier rounds of special elections involving many counties using the same voter-maintenance information. Neither generated anything approaching the current controversy.
Why now?
The answer seems obvious. With control of Congress at stake, voters are extraordinarily sensitive to anything that might affect their ballots.
Watson acknowledges that the process can be improved. He wants to bring election commissioners and circuit clerks together to examine possible changes.
That's sensible.
We should also remember that maintaining accurate voter rolls is essential to election integrity. Watson believes actual voter fraud is limited, but even a handful of fraudulent votes can determine a close local election.
There is an unavoidable tradeoff between keeping voter rolls clean and occasionally inconveniencing legitimate voters.
Watson is doing a good job addressing a longstanding problem. We shouldn't abandon that effort because some voters, including yours truly, encounter difficulties.
But we must make sure every eligible voter understands the remedy.
If you're told you can't vote, don't walk away. Ask for an affidavit ballot.
Your vote can still count, and you can get your registration corrected at the same time.
I learned that lesson the hard way.
