The Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office has announced a new partnership with global information services company Experian to enhance the reliability of statewide and local voter data.
A joint effort will “bring a new level of reliable data for county election commissioners” to utilize in the maintenance of voter rolls, according to the announcement released Monday.
In the past, Mississippi has primarily relied on the National Change of Address (NCOA) database from the U.S. Postal Service to identify changes in voter registration.
Through the new partnership, county election commissioners will receive reliable data from both the NCOA database and Experian, one of America’s three major credit reporting agencies. Supplemental data will also be available from the Social Security Death Master File to remove voters from the roll who have passed away.
“This new level of data, in addition to agreements with surrounding states to identify dually registered voters, will continue to build on the accuracy of Mississippi’s voter rolls and strengthen the integrity of elections,” a portion of the statement reads. “Since the United State Census Bureau estimates around 12% of people move each year, it is imperative our office continually receives updated information.”
As registered voters are identified as having a new address and have not updated the change on their voter registration, they will be sent a confirmation card and placed on “inactive” status.
The Secretary of State’s office noted that inactive voters still have an opportunity to vote or correct their registration through the following:
- If a voter returns the confirmation card and states they have not moved, they will be returned to “Active” status at their current address.
- If the voter has moved within the county of their current registration and returns the confirmation card, they will have their voter registration address updated to their new address within the county.
- If the voter has moved outside of the county and returns the confirmation card, they will be removed from their previous county’s voter rolls and will need to register in their new county of residence.
- If the voter does not return the card, they will remain on the voter rolls as an “Inactive” voter through two federal general elections. During this time, a voter may be moved to “Active” status at any time by updating their information with their county circuit clerk.
