‘Human error’ switches status of 67,000 Louisiana voters to inactive

The Louisiana Secretary of State’s office expects to restore the correct status for thousands of voters by Wednesday after a mishap during routine maintenance earlier this week switched them to inactive.

Trey Williams, deputy secretary for communications, said “human error” during the process Monday night inadvertently misclassified approximately 67,000 voters statewide.  

“Our staff immediately identified the issue and began correcting it,” Williams said in an email. “We also implemented additional safeguards to prevent this from happening again.”

The temporary status glitch will not affect anyone’s eligibility or ability to vote, he added. Inactive voters are still eligible to vote under Louisiana law. 

Courtney Price, an East Baton Rouge Parish voter, told the Illuminator in an email she noticed her voting status was switched to inactive when she checked it Monday evening. She has lived at the same address for more than 10 years and described herself as a “consistent” voter. 

Price shared her email exchange telling East Baton Rouge Parish Registrar Steve Raborn about the discrepancy, and he informed Price that the problem originated with the Secretary of State.

The Secretary of State maintains a list of inactive voters, which includes voters whose addresses aren’t verified by their parish registrar of voters during their annual review of voter rolls.

Voters who’ve moved can update their registration details online if they have already updated their driver’s license or state ID with information for their new address. They can also make updates by mail or in person at their parish registrar of voters.

Voters who have not updated their registration address are still eligible to vote, but they are required to confirm their residence when voting with some form of photo ID and proof of their current address. Persons without a voter ID on Election Day will be asked to complete a voter ID affidavit form.  

Inactive voters who don’t confirm their address and do not take part in any elections may be removed from the state’s voter list after being dormant for two consecutive federal election cycles.

Voters can verify their registration information through the voter portal at Geauxvote.com or through the Geaux Vote mobile app.