The Problem with Mississippi’s Voter Rolls

“Last summer, Mississippi began an effort to ‘continue to build on the accuracy of Mississippi’s voter rolls and strengthen the integrity of elections,’ as Republican Secretary of State Michael Watson put it,” The Atlantic reports.

“Using data from the credit-reporting agency Experian, the state scrutinized its list of registered voters, searching for anyone who may have moved, left the state, or died. Tens of thousands of Mississippians had their active registrations shifted to inactive—a crucial step toward purging them from the rolls.”

“On Tuesday, many of those inactive voters showed up at the polls, only to be told that they were not properly registered. Their best option was to fill out an affidavit ballot, a more involved process that increases the likelihood that a vote will not count.”