Number of inactive voters surprises county auditor/recorder

T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM — Marshall County Auditor/Recorder Nan Benson shows a box full of returned mail sent to inactive or canceled registered voters. Her office notifies residents of changes in voter statuses if they do not participate in general elections or let the auditor know about changes to their voter profile.
More than 2,500 inactive Marshall County voters have had their registrations canceled.
Marshall County Auditor/Recorder Nan Benson and Assistant Auditor/Recorder Jessie Chizek said they were surprised by how many inactive voters there were.
“It’s just a bigger number than what we have had in the past,” Benson said.
“I know we have a lot of inactive voters,” Chizek said. “There are voters who just vote Presidential. Of course, you get all of the people who move, and there are the registration drives at the high school. We’ll get hundreds of voter registrations, but these kids don’t vote. There’s a lot of that.”
According to Benson, this is a good way to clean voter lists, and something they do after every general election. She said removing the canceled voters from the county list will actually save them money.
“We don’t have to mail out the post cards, so it saves a little bit of money when we have to do mailings,” Benson said.
Chizek said when the list of 2,679 inactive Marshall County voters was received from Secretary of State Paul Pate at the beginning of January, she began the process of reviewing them. To be considered inactive, a registered voter does not participate in the last general election. Chizek mails notice of the pending inactive status. If the mail is returned to the auditor’s office, that voter is automatically considered inactive.
“Most of these inactive voters have moved. We have received a lot back,” she said. “We cannot cancel them unless they notify us with written notice that they have moved out of Marshall County. Otherwise, they stay inactive until we can cancel them.”
Benson said getting word out about this cleanup process is good for the public’s awareness. If someone does move, they should let the county auditor know.
Now, if a voter does not cast a ballot in the last two general elections, he or she is considered canceled, and Chizek sends another notice in the mail.
“You’re talking four years nothing has been updated or changed and no votes for any elections,” she said. “The letter is sent just in case maybe they just didn’t feel like voting, but it does notify them.”
The auditor/recorder’s office mailed notices to the voters about the pending cancellations. Most of the notices were sent back in the mail, indicating the voters were no longer at the registered address.
Fortunately, canceled voters can easily register again. Benson said they will not have to go through any extra steps, just fill out another voter registration form. She recalled one couple who only voted in the Presidential election.
“They were older and they were both sick this last election,” Benson said, laughing. “I heard her tell him ‘I told you we should have come in early.’ I told them it’s not a big deal. If they come in, we can re register their cards, fill out a form. It’s no big deal.”
The forms can be found online at https://mymvd.iowadot.gov/Account/Login?ReturnUrl=%2fVoterRegistration. Physical forms are at the auditor’s office in the Marshall County Courthouse, the United States Post Office or the Iowa Department of Transportation Drivers License Station.
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Contact Lana Bradstream
at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or
lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.