Guest Editorial: "Update the voter lists"
MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - A disturbing fact came to light this week about the voting process in the state of Alabama.
According to figures from the U.S. Census and from the Alabama Secretary of State's office four counties, Macon, Wilcox, Lowndes and Greene, have more active, registered voters than county residents 18 and older.
One explanation is under-counting by the U.S. Census. If that is the case, there is no cause for alarm. Unfortunately this can't be verified.
The other explanation is voter lists not being purged properly when voters die or move, or people registering more than once, intentionally or not, with slightly different identification data. If this is the case there is cause for alarm.
Some are already pointing fingers of accusation across the party line, because these counties voted overwhelmingly Democrat in the 2010 election. But, then, fingers pointed the other way when the newly Republican State House passed the voter ID requirement in 2011.
More importantly, this situation has the potential for voter fraud and it needs to be addressed. One person, one vote, is a bedrock of the democratic process.
How can there be confidence in a fair election when a shadow such as this hangs over an election? Voter lists need to be up to date and accurate. Whatever that takes.
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