If you haven’t already, you will soon be receiving a card in the mail from your Election Commissioner. If the card you received is sitting under a pile of mail, go and get it right now, fill it out and mail it back. Now. It’s free, return postage paid. Time is of the essence.

The purpose of this exercise is to satisfy a legal consent decree as the result of a lawsuit. Jeff Davis County was bent over the knee of a group called the American Civil Rights Union (ACRU) and publicly spanked for not keeping our voter rolls in order. A whipping well deserved. Our voter rolls were not perfect.

However, no counties’ voter rolls are in order. I challenge every county in the United States to check their rolls. Chances are, Jeff Davis County is not in half as bad of a condition as say densely populated metropolitan areas. Who thinks to call their Circuit Clerk when they are moving?

Removing a duplicate or dead voter from the rolls is not as easy as it sounds. Just ask your local commissioner.

When all is said and done, Jeff Davis County may very well have the skinniest, non-bloated voter rolls in the country, but we will have paid dearly for it.

ACRU first sued Walthall County collecting $9,000 in legal fees, then $7,500 from us. This mailing was not cheap. Take the cost of 9,000 perforated cards plus .79 in postage x 9,000 = $7,100 in postage costs. Plus the ink and staff time to prepare the mailing. For every card not returned, a second card will need to be mailed per the decree. More postage, ink and staff time.

Don’t make our poor county spend any more money. Send the card back, and remember, in future if you move or if you die, be sure and let your Election Commissioner know.