Registration DOWN?!? Blame Elvis.

We've got some unusual statistics for 17 days before an election: Active voter registration in Johnson County is actually DOWN over the last two weeks. But there's a reason for it and there's still time to fix problems.

Recently we sent new voter cards to five precincts which have new polling places. Any time we do a large mailing, some of the cards are returned to sender.



We should have sent it Special D.

When official election mail is returned as undeliverable, the Motor Voter law (1993) requires us to place that voter on inactive status, a preliminary step to cancellation. Inactive voters need to re-register to return to active status and vote.

Since October 4, during the stretch when cards were getting returned to sender, active voter registration in the county has dropped from 89,545 to 89,065, a loss of 480. (More voters than that have been inactivated, but losses are getting offset by new registrations). That's unusually high, because one of the precincts that's moved is Iowa City 11, a high turnover, student heavy part of downtown. Active registration in precinct 11 has dropped by 437 voters in the last two weeks. Many of these voters have probably graduated and moved away, but many others have simply moved to a new apartment.

Voters can check their registration status at the Secretary of State's web site. If your registration is inactive, this will appear near the top of the page:

Your current registration status is inactive. On election day, you will need to show identification at the polling place, such as a current and valid photo ID. 

You can avoid problems if you update your registration this week before the pre-registration deadline, Saturday October 25 at 5 p.m.

We expect the downward trend in registration to end next week with a stepped up satellite voting schedule. Voting is available Monday through Friday 11 to 5 at the Old Capitol Center, and from 7:45 to 5:30 at our office.