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Commissioners approve $1,864 Experian address-verification contract after debate over county's role
Summary
Harrison County approved a one-time $1,864 contract with Experian to verify roughly 46,590 voter addresses; the measure passed 4-1 after commissioners questioned whether the county should use funds to locate voters who moved.
Harrison County commissioners voted 4-1 on July 19 to authorize a one-time contract with Experian to verify the county's voter-address list. Elections Administrator Robinette asked for approval of a flat fee of $1,864 to run 46,590 records and said the service could reduce returned mailings and postage costs ahead of the next mass voter-card mailing.
Robinette told the court that the vendor would not access credit reports but would match name-and-address data to update residence addresses in the county's voter file. He said the fee structure included a flat report cost plus per-hit charges for certain returned records and that Experian agreed to cap a specific charge related to death-record checks at $200.
Commissioners sought clarity on the fee structure and the county's responsibilities. One commissioner argued the county should not spend resources to "track down" voters who have moved, saying voters bear responsibility to update their addresses. Robinette responded that state procedures require the county to follow up on returned voter mail and that the verification would likely reduce overall postage and staff time on follow-up mailings.
The motion to approve, recorded in the meeting minutes as moved by Commissioner Timmons and seconded by Commissioner Malden, passed with one dissenting vote. Commissioners did not identify a specific statutory requirement to run the vendor service, but Robinette said keeping rolls "as clean as we possibly can" is part of the office's duty and that the measure is intended to be cost-saving over multiple mail cycles.
What the contract covers: a one-time verification of ~46,590 voter records at a flat fee of $1,864; per-hit fees may apply for certain returned or exceptional matches; the county procured a cap on the death-record check fee. Funding was to come from the elections expense line (100.407.448.25); Robinette said if funds are insufficient he could request a line-item transfer.
Next steps: If implemented, the elections office will submit its voter list to Experian for the one-time run and report back to the commissioners on hits, costs and any realized postage savings.
