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Improving State Voter Registration Databases Final Report (2010) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix C: Data Issues
Pages 79-86

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From page 79...
... The NVRA also requires public assistance and disability service agencies to provide voters with voter registration forms that voters complete manually and then return to the agency or department for delivery to the voter registrar, or to certify in writing that the individual applying for assistance or service has declined the opportunity to register to vote.1 (However, the committee also recognizes that election officials are not generally in the chain of command for these agencies, a fact that often leads to a certain amount of bureaucratic politics as Agency A seeks to persuade Agency B to help carry out the mission of Agency A.) The availability of registration forms in these many locations increases the opportunities for eligible voters to register, but can also result in duplicate registrations that are sent to election agencies, and if voters themselves fill out the form manually, they can and do make mistakes.
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From page 80...
... For example, Jim Dickson of the American Association of People with Disabilities testified to the committee that the volume of voter registration applications received from state social service and disability agencies (a service to potential voters that the NVRA directs these agencies to provide) has dropped significantly since the initial implementation of the law in 1995, although the committee notes that the causality of this drop remains unclear -- that is, it is unknown whether this drop reflects failures in the social service agencies to meet their legal obligations; a change in the demographics and/or preferences of those applying for social services; problems in conveying completed applications to voter registrars; or some other reason(s)
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From page 81...
... Problems with data capture and errors in the voter registration database can have an important effect on the individuals whose data are involved. The voter believes that he or she is properly registered, but the registration may have been rejected as a result of the inaccurate, incomplete, or illegible information on the form, or the voter may not know to bring to the polls on Election Day the additional identifica tion required because of a problem with his or her form.
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From page 82...
... Subsequent match ing against state social services files or SSA files to determine whether an individual is deceased will either fail or possibly induce additional error.
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From page 83...
... However, "starting from scratch" for a VRD would mean purging everyone from the VRD, and since the NVRA establishes specific criteria for removing voters from registration lists, such an act would be contrary to existing law. Human-Assisted Data Cleaning Many traditional systems for managing administrative lists incorporate procedures that improve data capture and remove some typographical variations.
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From page 84...
... To help minimize keying errors, registrars might ask individuals with access to the relevant facilities to correct their information online through a Web site; security would be provided by a special code or password returned to the individual with the data correction request to ensure that only the proper individual could view or correct the information. Electronic Transmission of Voter Registration Applications Important sources of voter registration applications include departments of motor vehicles and social service agencies.
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From page 85...
... For example, the Census Bureau compiles a list of first names and surnames found in the census.7 Using such lists as spell-check dictionaries, a data entry clerk could be notified in real time that a given first name or surname was not represented in these lists, possibly signaling a keypunching error and/or the need to recheck the name entered against the information on the voter registration form. Use of ethnically specific lists may be especially useful for entering name data associated with those ethnic groups.
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From page 86...
... . COLLATERAL ISSUES IN IMPROVING DATA QUALITy Application of the techniques discussed above is intended to improve the quality of the data in a VRD by making the data more accurate -- that is, these techniques allow erroneous data to be changed into correct data.
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Key Terms

  • voter registrars
  • data capture
  • data quality
  • data entry
  • registration applications

  • registration forms
  • social service
  • service agencies
  • improving data
  • voter registrar

  • registration database
  • additional error
  • voter provides
  • registration information
  • registration form

  • state social
  • secondary data
  • improve data
  • header data
  • original data

  • electronic transmission
  • dmv file
  • percent error
  • induce additional
  • state vrd

  • correct information
  • main administrative
  • correct errors
  • vrd file
  • election officials


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