Warren County’s election commissioners are in the process of checking the rolls to determine the status and addresses of county voters as the November general and presidential elections near.

“Voter roll maintenance is ongoing, year after year, between elections because people are always moving in (and out of) the county and last names change,” said Election Commission chairman Sara Carlson Dionne.

The process, she said, is required under the federal National Voting Rights Act, which requires election commissioners and state registrars of voters to annually check voter rolls to ensure addresses are correct and voters are still active.

Voters, she said, can be removed from the rolls for several reasons: they no longer live in the area, were convicted of one of 22 felonies that can result in their losing their right to vote, ask to be removed, or died.

“The state also has agreements with 20 other states that allow election commissioners to compare voter rolls,” she said. “If there is a duplicate name on both voter rolls, then we cross-check to determine if the person is still a voter here. If they are not, we put the name in an inactive roll. We also get information (on convictions) from the (state) Administrative Office of Courts.”

When a name comes up, she said, the commission sends a voter information card to the person’s last listed address.

“If it is returned to us by the Post Office as undeliverable, or we don’t get a response, the name is placed on the inactive list until two federal elections have passed (four years). If the person hasn’t tried to vote during that time, the name is purged from the rolls,” she said. “If a card is returned by the voter, they will usually provide updated information about their address and other information, and they are returned to the rolls.”

If a person comes to vote after their name has been removed from the active roll, they vote using an affidavit ballot, which is examined and verified the day after the election to determine if the person voted in the right precinct for their address. If all the information is verified, the vote is counted and the voter is placed in the roll as active.

“We don’t want to have to deny anyone the right to vote,” Dionne said, “but we are required to keep the rolls current.”

People who have moved or changed their name since the last election can contact the Election Commission office at 601-630-8030 or go to the Circuit Clerk’s Office or the Warren County Election Commission website and print a form to fill out and mail in.