LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Russell Lorenzen says he didn't think much of the election mail that he received after he bought his house in Las Vegas in 1997.
But the mail — fliers, sample ballots and, later, actual mail-in ballots — kept coming.
WATCH | Election mail delivered for decades to wrong house
For decades, he says he's received mail in the name of the home's previous owner, who he heard moved back East nearly 30 years ago.
So when he saw election officials talking about ensuring Clark County had clean voting rolls, he spoke up, writing to Channel 13 to ask how a mistake like that could happen.
"And this, like I said, is not a partisan thing for me," Lorenzen said. "I've lived here in Las Vegas since the 70s, and I like to think that we have clean voter rolls, that's the buzzword they want to use right now. And it just makes me wonder, do we really?"
County and state officials insist there are procedures in place to purge voter rolls of people who have died or moved away. They say if a person doesn't vote in two successive general elections, they are put on an inactive voter list and eventually purged.
Election officials also send postcards to voters; if the cards are returned by the post office as undeliverable, that voter is put on inactive status.
But the system is not foolproof, as Lorenzen's case shows. He says he called Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar's office to report the situation.
"I called his office and I spoke to one of his people there, and she told me that if that happens after four or eight years they should be purged off the list. Well, it's been 29 years, so even by her account, that's impossible," Lorenzen said.
Channel 13 also spoke to Aguilar and asked him about the case, He said he's committed to fixing errors like the one Lorenzen is experiencing.
"I never want to hear that a house or a home or apartment complex is receiving ballots for another voter that's no longer registered to vote there. We need to make sure we get on top of this and address it," he said.
But to do that, he said he needs the public's help. If you receive a sample ballot, election department postcard or even a mail ballot at your home addressed to someone else, write "return to sender" and put it back in the mail, he said.
Or call the secretary of state or Clark County registrar of voters office and inform them of the issue. (There's a form to fill out that will start the process to fix the issue.)
"We need voters to engage in the process with us, because we don't have all the information and if a voter does engage by returning that postcard or returning that ballot, that's a two-way engagement that helps us keep our voter rolls clean," he said. "My goal is to have the cleanest voter rolls in the country."
Lorenzen says he wants the same thing.
"The only reason I'm doing this is because I know I want my vote to count," he said. "And I was born in this country and I've lived here since the 70s and I like voting for things that Nevada, the things that count for me. And not saying other people can't have different opinions, they certainly can. But I just want to make sure they're legal to vote."
To contact the Clark County elections department, you can call 702-455-VOTE (8683) or email ELinfo@ClarkCountyNV.gov. To contact the secretary of state's elections office, call 775-687-8683 or email NVelect@sos.nv.gov.
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