(MS) 5/09 - NESHOBA: VOTER LISTS UNAV...

Author Message   Bev Harris Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 10507 Registered: 12-2004 Best of Black Box?  Votes: 2 (A keeper?) Posted on Friday, May 8, 2009 - 1:25 pm:        This article provides yet another example of why we need to "commit the data" for voter lists (freeze it at frequent points in time) and make it available for examination. Here we have a candidate for alderman who is unable to get the lists for two of his four wards, because the lists were supposedly in flux at the moment. Now, for those of us who work with databases on a daily basis, the excuse seems like hogwash -- you just save and export the data. These candidates were right to be concerned; they were spotting many errors where voters were assigned to the wrong ward in the database. Mis-assigned voters are likely to be disenfranchised when they are given the wrong ballot. Using voter databases with data that is constantly "in flux" is like passing around squishy water balloons. Contents will tend to shift depending on who's holding them at any given moment. Three important protective reforms for voter databases are needed: 1) Commit the data frequently (save, lock it in as of points in time) 2) Require change logs which should reveal which records changed from one iteration to the next (and what the change was, and who entered the data) 3) Freedom of information The Neshoba Democrat - April 29, 2009, By DEBBIE BURT MYERS http://www.neshobademocrat.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=297&ArticleID=18776&TM=65479.37 Jenkins raises issue over city voter rolls An incumbent alderman voiced concerns this week about the accuracy of the city's voter rolls. Ward 3 Alderman Ronnie Jenkins said he had obtained a copy of the names of registered voters in his ward and noticed some errors. Among them were the names of some voters living on Mississippi 16 east, which he said had never been in Ward 3. What's more, Jenkins said a Ward 3 voter requested an absentee ballot by mail and when it arrived, it was for Ward 4. City Clerk James Johnson said he was aware of only 10 or 15 errors that were made when his office entered the ward information for registered voters into the Statewide Election Management System for the first time, a requirement by state law. "We started entering them into the system in January," Johnson said. Once his office is notified of an error, it can be easily corrected, he said. Should a voter go to their correct voting place on Tuesday and find that his name is not on the voter roll, he can cast an affidavit ballot which will be counted after the correct ward is verified, Johnson said. Randy Gill, a candidate for Ward 3 alderman, said three of his supporters were mailed the wrong absentee ballots as well. "They were mailed Ward 4 ballots which were returned to the City Clerk's Office," Gill said, noting that the correct ones were subsequently furnished to voters. Leroy Clemons, a candidate for alderman-at-large, said the city's voter rolls needed to be purged. He requested copies of the rolls numerous times, he said. "I got the rolls for Wards 3 and 4 but never could get my hands on 1 and 2 because they were trying to get them into the statewide system," he said. "I wanted to check and see who I really needed to be talking to instead of folks walking the streets who are not even registered to vote." Clemons said there were people on the rolls who haven't lived in Neshoba County for years along with some who are deceased. "They need to be purged," he said. Incumbent Ward 2 Alderman Roy White and Ward 4 Alderman Bobbie Jackson said they hadn't fielded any complaints. Ward 1 voters will cast ballots at the National Guard armory; Ward 2 at First United Methodist Church Family Life Center; Ward 3, Neshoba County Public Library; and Ward 4, Westside Community Center. Persons not familiar with their correct ward or voting place should call the city clerk's office at 601-656-3612. The Neshoba Democrat has been unable to obtain a map for publication that shows ward lines. This article is also archived in the Mississippi - Neshoba County section of this Web site.   Joel Morine Frequent Voting Rights Forum Participant Username: Erased Post Number: 302 Registered: 1-2008 Best of Black Box?  Votes: 1 (A keeper?) Posted on Saturday, May 9, 2009 - 9:41 am:        The point re: "committing the data" seems to me so clear, strong & 'sellable' that it might serve as one of many litmus-issues as to whether individuals in politics desire real elections, or desire to provide & protect election fraud mechanism-options.

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