More than 16,000,000 Souls Who Moved or Moved to the Hereafter Still Eligible to Vote
WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Aristotle International, a leading non-partisan provider of political technology and data, announced today the results of its annual "Deadwood" voter registration compilation. The study, conducted by Aristotle every year since 2000, compares government lists of people who have moved or died to the voter registration lists obtained from state or county elections agencies. This year's data indicates that 16,331,707 (or 8.9%) of all registered voters are what elections experts call "Deadwood" - a 3% increase since the last estimate in October 2008. In total, nearly 10% of voters listed on registration rolls are ineligible to vote due to a change in residence or death according to Aristotle's non-partisan election data resource www.voterlistsonline.com. State-by-state totals can be viewed online at www.whereIvote.com/Deadwood.
"Deadwood on voter rolls complicates the electoral process and can cause problems like fraud and vote miscounts. It always creates a perception of low voter turnout," said John Aristotle Phillips, CEO of Aristotle. "It gets down to this: by depressing turnout, dead voters make the rest of us look bad."
While scrubbing its computerized voter lists of "Deadwood," Aristotle was able to estimate 3,360,696 dead voters and another 12,971,011 voters who have moved from their registered address but are still listed on voter rolls.
"Campaigns can't afford to waste valuable resources on inaccurate data. In politics, the more you know and the sooner you know it, the greater the advantage. It's our job to provide the most accurate information as well as the tools and technology to mine it for opportunity," said Phillips.
"Voterlistsonline.com helps thousands of candidates and party organizations get access to the most accurate and useful data available," Phillips continued. "If you are working to 'Get Out The Vote' you want to spend your money wisely. You need to target only voters who can vote for you, not those who may no longer be on this Earth or at that address."
The states with the most "Deadwood" on their rosters include: Washington, Wyoming, West Virginia, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. "Some states have bigger problems than others," said Phillips. "With Deadwood exceeding 1 in 7 voters in some counties, candidates might as well spend a day a week campaigning in the cemetery."
Across the nation, "Deadwood" estimates range from the lowest in North Carolina with 4% to the highest in Washington with 22% percent. The median national percentage of "Deadwood" on voter rolls is 9.9%. Some states attempt to 'flag' inactive voters, but laws can prevent their removal from the rolls. "Elections officials do their best, but they can't raise the dead. It's the law." Phillips said.
Aristotle has been collecting and dispensing voter lists for 25 years with thousands of Democrats and Republicans utilizing the service during election cycles. Information is collected at the state, county and municipal level and then scrubbed against a variety of national databases for accuracy.
"Dead people can't vote, but they sure use a lot of postage," says Phillips. "Eliminating Deadwood streamlines the campaign process and helps reduce wasteful spending. With the 2009 elections wrapping up, the 2010 campaigns will commence in earnest. When they do, access to timely, accurate information will be priority one."
Voters who have moved - especially in Virginia, New Jersey and other states with elections on November 3rd - log onto www.whereIvote.com to find correct polling locations and other election-day information resources. This service is made available for voters nationwide to coincide with elections.
About Aristotle
Aristotle is recognized as a global pioneer in political technology, providing indispensable tools to those who seek to use the Democratic process to influence decisions at the ballot box. Every occupant of the White House -- Democrat and Republican -- for more than 25 years has been an Aristotle customer, as are most U.S. Senators, most members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Democratic and Republican state party organizations. For information about career opportunities or for client inquiries, go to www.aristotle.com.
About Voterlistsonline.com
This proprietary list technology provides 24/7 online access to the most enhanced and accurate state, county, and municipal voter data in America. The data is enhanced with a full suite of data points including phone and census data, as well as geo-spatial searches and mapping. Selections include home purchasers or renters, subscribers to special interest magazines, and contributors to political, charitable, religious and environmental causes.
Aristotle International
