Study: Voter rolls deeply flawed

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: Campaign 2012

(Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Twenty-four million active voter registrations - one out of eight - "are no longer valid or have significant inaccuracies," according to a study from the Pew Center on the States. That figure includes about 1.8 million people who remain on voter rolls even though they have passed away.

The finding is likely to provide ammunition to the mostly-Republican lawmakers who are pushing legislation to reduce voter fraud - legislation that critics say is designed to reduce turnout among demographics that tend to favor Democrats.

But the study does not suggest the inaccuracies lead to significant fraud on Election Day. Instead, it suggests it is long-past time to modernize an outdated paper-based system and improve communication between states in order to save money and reduce errors.

To understand where these errors come from, think about what happens when you move from one state to another. You would register to vote in your new state, but that state doesn't notify your old state that you have moved - leaving you registered in both states, unless you cancel your previous registration.

According to Pew, around 2.75 million people have active registrations in more than one state, 12.7 million do not reflect a voters' current address and another 12 million have inaccurate addresses that make it unlikely that they can be reached by mail.

In 2008, according to Pew, Oregon taxpayers spent more than $4 to process voter registrations for each active voter. Using more modern methods, Canada spends under 35 cents to process registrations for each active voter.

"Proven solutions and technology are already in place in many government offices and the private sector, and states can use them to improve the accuracy, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of their systems," said David Becker, director of Election Initiatives at the Pew Center on the States.

Pew is urging states to move toward online voter registration, compare their voter registration list with other data such as motor vehicle and Social Security records, and improve their methods for identifying inaccurate or outdated records. Eight states have joined a pilot program to share information in an effort to improve the accuracy of their voter rolls.

One challenge in improving the lists is making sure that legitimate voters are not removed by accident - say, because they have the same name as someone who moved out of state or died.

The Pew study also found that nearly one in four eligible Americans - at least 51 million - are not registered to vote.

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by userjohna February 16, 2012 12:35 PM EST: Fix the Whole Election Process
An intelligent being from another galaxy studied the US election process and made the following observations.
1. Significant amounts of resource spent on polls with a shelf life of two days seem wasteful except to those participating. The reason must relate to human penchant for sports betting although there is a payoff for some. Another possibility is to solve the unemployment problem by keeping statisticians and media types off the street. Reporting goes on incessantly, this to some is like a replacement for water-boarding.
2. Caucuses are larger get together polls that take place at the state level but results also have a short shelf life. This seems wasteful too as turnout is small. Iowa has 2million voters with 129 thousand voting. States following generally follow the small turnout pattern.
3. Candidates with the same political thinking batter each other until their pond scum. Their list of failures includes history based on any bad experience, marriage, belief and anything in between.
4. Future visions for U.S. are never defined clearly as wiggle room seems essential. No leadership performance metrics are defined, very strange for an executive position. Voters don't seem proactive but take what they get. This approach did not turn out well for voters of congress.
5. Congress has spending authority but no conscience on awarding money. Most members are wealthy and are sponsored by special interests. This makes it difficult for them to relate to the needy. The notion of credit is very popular but repayment through raising taxes seems a curse.
6. Leading candidates get the most battering to help them through the process. That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger is operable in my galaxy too. Voting at the different state Primary's takes days and weeks and months.
7. The current leader gets blame for everything that goes wrong whether or not it fits the realm of duty or not. Reporting from some media with wealthy sponsors clearly has a very large ax to grind. Critical thinking suffers the most in this game. Lie often enough and it becomes truth. It worked for Hitler for a while.
8. Groups called fundamentalists seem the strangest. Facts have no bearing on thinking and its ideology or nothing. Anything outside their ideology is met with a blank stare or anger.
9. Groups called constitutionalists want to go back to 1787 type government. Nostalgia is a wonderful thing but no way to run a government. Even using the golden rule helps govern.
10. While the election wheels grind away, the current president puts up with battering from his opponents. The tactic of appealing to rational citizens to confront a belligerent congress and opponents seems the only way to get anything done. Voter wrath motivates.
11. Election day, the biggest poll sample, voters get to evaluate lies, hopes and facts to pick a leader that will not further ruin the populations ability to live the American dream.
12. A visit to this planet is out of the question with so much craziness and hostility. It is amusing to study this process as the persons don't appear so dumb in many other areas of endeavor. But that is a whole other study on how to fix the process. Likely impossible.; Reply to this comment


by cg37102006 February 15, 2012 7:06 AM EST: I know this first hand to be true. I can actually vote in two different counties in my home state; the county where I grew up in, and the county I live in now. I choose to be honest and just vote once, but who knows how rampant this sort of thing could be?; Reply to this comment

by thebob-bob February 14, 2012 3:12 PM EST

Picture IDs do not clear the voting roles of dead people. They never show up at the polls.

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by reality_sanity February 14, 2012 3:47 PM EST: How do you check a picture ID for a voter that requests an absentee ballot by mail? These voter ID laws are a joke.


by reality_sanity February 14, 2012 3:48 PM EST: Answer -- Most Boards of Elections do not check voter ID's for those requesting absentee ballots even in person.


by AOCGUY February 14, 2012 2:23 PM EST: If my estate is going to be taxed after I die then I still want to vote.; Reply to this comment

by credibility2 February 14, 2012 1:59 PM EST

Voter registration detail is the responsibility of the individual voter to make sure their registration detail is accurate and kept up to date. A contributing problem to this is also many illegal aliens being allowed to have fraudulent identification (identity theft) and some areas allowing them to also vote since illegals live in so-called sanctuary cities where it's against the law to ask for verifiable proof of residency and identity.

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by reality_sanity February 14, 2012 3:51 PM EST: It is the responsibility of the state and local boards of elections to process applications to determine the validity of the applicant to be placed onto the voter roles. There is no national database of citizens of this country for verification. A considerable number of people even lack birth certificates because they were not issued when they were born or their birth vital records office suffered from some disaster like fire, tornado, etc.


by reality_sanity February 14, 2012 3:55 PM EST: Besides most state birth certificates (not unoffical hospital birth records) lack foot prints or finger prints or pictures (could you be recognized today based on your baby picture?) So what chance is there to verify the person named on a birth certificate is the same person whose birth was recorded?


by prm777 February 14, 2012 1:49 PM EST: "Republican lawmakers who are pushing legislation to reduce voter fraud - legislation that critics say is designed to reduce turnout among demographics that tend to favor Democrats." And what would those demographics that tend to favor Democrats be??? Might they be deceased voters, illegal aliens, felons and people who vote multiple times at various locations? All the Republican legislation is attempting to do is ensure that only people who are legally eligible to vote are voting, so as not to disenfranchise legitimate, law-abiding U.S. citizens. Why do the Dems have such a problem with this?; Reply to this comment

by getaskill February 14, 2012 1:34 PM EST

"But the study does not suggest the inaccuracies lead to significant fraud on Election Day" Now that's a flippant attitude. They act like no big deal if a few of us get disfranchised.

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by AOCGUY February 14, 2012 2:21 PM EST: Not sure how anyone should be being "disenfranchised." You show up to vote with a photo ID proving you are who you say you are. That ID is compared to the roster of registered voters in that precinct. If you match your ID, and your ID matches the roster, and the roster indicates you haven't voted yet - you get to vote. If there are any descrepancies, you cast a provisional ballot and now you have 24 hours to correct the descrepancy.

And while this study reveals that there may be many inaccuracies in the voting rosters across the nation, the study does not indicate nor does any other study, that actual voting fraud is occurring at a significant level (outside of Chicago of course XD)


by robbyr2 February 14, 2012 12:51 PM EST: This study does not say that any of the dead voters have voted. This study does say that we have a significant number of people who need to be registered and to vote. It should cost you NOT to vote, like Australia.; Reply to this comment

by bmallen3 February 14, 2012 12:10 PM EST

Yes, and here in Texas we have had thousands of the cemetery residents vote for Democrats. It is no wonder they fight a picture ID requirement. This nonsense about it being tough to have a picture ID is pure fiction, this is about continuing the voter fraud.

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by reality_sanity February 14, 2012 12:22 PM EST: Proven Voter Fraud by the Chief Election official in Indiana -- A REPUBLICAN -- the man ultimately responsible for the maintenance of the voter roles in Indiana.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57371606/ind-election-chief-found-guilty-of-voter-fraud/


by reality_sanity February 14, 2012 12:26 PM EST: The government charging for an ID to vote or to acquire documents to secure an ID to vote is a violation of the 14th amendment concerning poll taxes.

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by Former_Marine_Sgt February 14, 2012 12:07 PM EST

I want any right winger who claims this proves voter fraud to show me thier proof.

I want this study to be extended to look at the actual voting records of any person who may be registered to vote in two states. I want to know if ANY of them actually voted in both or just the one they live in today. IF THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT ANYONE VOTED IN BOTH LOCATIONS - IT'S NOT VOTER FRAUD.

I want the records of the voters who died to see if 'they' voted after their deaths. UNLESS THEY DID THERE IS NO VOTER FRAUD.

I want the same done for ALL of the irregularities that this study found.

UNLESS THERE IS A RECORD OF ANYONE VOTING ILLEGALLY OR IMPROPERLY THERE IS NO VOTER FRAUD.

Yes, they keep record of who voted and who didn't. They don't record how you voted, only if you did or not. That data can easily be used to prove or disprove the right wingers 'claims' of voter fraud.

Unless that additional research is done - any claims of voter fraud are blatant lies.

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by Zann-Zel February 14, 2012 12:13 PM EST: "Voter fraud"/"dead people voting" - are just ways the conservatives attempt to console themselves when their candidate loses! : )