WASHINGTON — Earlier this year, Ohio election officials sent notices marked "Do not forward" to the state's registered voters, alerting them to the March primary.
To the surprise of voting rights activists, 573,444 notices were returned as undeliverable in five counties alone, including the urban areas of Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.
The heavy return rate alarmed liberal activists. They feared that numerous voters -- many of them young and minorities -- could lose their right to vote in November, perhaps because they had moved and failed to update their records.
Since about 1 in 7 Americans changes residence every year, the large volume of returned mail also hints at a potential problem in voter rolls nationwide.
In Ohio, the large amount of returned mail set off a three-way tussle -- involving Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat; the leaders of the state Republican Party; and two voting rights groups -- over how to handle possible discrepancies in the voting records.
Disputes over voter records could loom large in Ohio and other battleground states, where the 2008 presidential race is likely to be decided. In nearly every state, citizens who want to vote Nov. 4 must register in advance, and the data on file must be up to date.
This year, it is easy to check that information. In the past, counties maintained their own voter rolls. But when Congress adopted the Help America Vote Act after the Florida election debacle in 2000, it told states to create a computerized database of all their voters by 2006.
The databases have triggered -- or perhaps magnified -- disputes over the voter rolls.
What, for instance, should be done if a computer check turns up a voter who appears to be registered at two addresses? What about a newly registered voter whose address does not match other state records, including the driver's license?
Florida's election officials announced last week that they would enforce the state's "no-match, no-vote" law by not counting the ballots of new voters unless they cleared up any discrepancy between the registration form and other state records.
Two weeks ago, Ohio sent out another notice to registered voters, and voting rights advocates fear that the names on the returned mail will give GOP officials a long, ready-made list of voters to challenge.
