United States·United States (Mississippi)
Mississippi voter inactivations surged before Election Day after the state adopted unverified Experian data, Mississippi Today finds
JACKSON, Miss. —
| Score | Meaning | Major U.S. outlets that covered it |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Fully overlooked ← this story | 0 of 13 outlets |
| 8 | Barely covered | 1 outlet |
| 6, 5 | Lightly covered | 2 outlets (6) · 3 outlets (5) |
| 4, 3 | Covered | 4 outlets (4) · 5 outlets (3) |
| 2, 1, 0 | Widely covered | 6–7 outlets (2) · 8–10 outlets (1) · 11–13 outlets (0) |
Provisional: Google News (5 term variants for AP, Reuters and The Washington Post; 3 for the others) and Bing News (5 variants, outlet domain only) were both used. AP, Reuters and CBS News block direct site search, and the other 10 outlets’ site search only loads in a live browser. A single search engine can miss articles, so this score may go down on recheck.
Updates
- Accuracy fix: the statewide inactive-voter total, the up-to-1-in-5 county share, and DeSoto County's share of inactivations and removals are now quoted word for word from Mississippi Today and attributed to it. Source: Mississippi Today (Madeline Nguyen)
Depth
Dig five layers into this story — from what happened to the full picture.
L1What happened
The surge has left "up to 1 in 5 voters in counties such as DeSoto and Wilkinson" one step closer to being purged from the rolls, Mississippi Today reports.
L2Who’s affected
"There may be a lot of disenfranchisement tomorrow from people who are showing up to vote," said Nsombi Lambright of the Jackson nonprofit One Voice. Fair Fight Action attorney Amir Badat warned of long lines, depleted affidavit ballots and strained county election commissioners: "It's just a totally unnecessary burden on voters and election commissioners that the state has created" (Mississippi Today).
L3Why it’s quiet
Analysis · OVERLOOKED The finding comes from a Mississippi Today data analysis published the day before the election. We did not find it in the 13 major U.S. outlets.
L4Deeper impact
Election researcher Thessalia Merivaki called an increase of that scale a "red flag" and said the commercial data could have driven it. After DeSoto Democratic chair Deborah Williams raised concerns, commissioners ordered more affidavit ballots; the county election commission did not respond to Mississippi Today. The secretary of state's office did not explain the spike, saying it would answer questions "after the election," and told WAPT last week it has replaced Experian's data with IDI Data (Mississippi Today).
L5Full context
County officials long used verified government data, such as Postal Service information or undeliverable jury summonses, to flag voters who moved or died. Secretary of State Michael Watson announced a $50,000 Experian deal last year; Mississippi Today previously found incorrect data led to legitimate voters being inactivated before the primaries, while Watson has called the rollout "wildly successful." The ballot includes a competitive U.S. Senate race between Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Scott Colom.
You’ve reached the bottom. Read the original reporting below.
Original reporting
Status history (3 events, ET)
- O-Score check: 10 (Fully overlooked) · 0 of 13 outlets counted
- Published
- Update · Accuracy fix: the statewide inactive-voter total, the up-to-1-in-5 county share, and DeSoto County's share of inactivations and removals are now quoted word for word from Mississippi Today and attributed to it.
ElectionsVoting rightsVoter rollsData privacy
This is an OVERLOOKED summary of the reporting above. Facts and figures come from the linked sources. Everything here is a fact unless it is labelled otherwise. Support this work.
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