This article on Obsidian Wings reminded me of a common fallacy about voter registration.

Many people seem to believe that someone's name appearing on a voter registration list is not just a necessary condition for being allowed to vote (i.e. only people who are registered can vote), but also that being on a voter registration list is a sufficient condition (i.e. if someone's name is on the list, then that is proof that s/he is eligible to vote).

Not so.

There are many things which can make someone ineligible to vote despite being properly registered. For example, dying (as in this case), moving to a different precinct, or being convicted of a felony. There are also many ways to become registered to vote without being eligible: lying about your citizenship or residence are good examples.

Many jurisdictions make at least some effort to purge voter rolls of ineligible voters, though these efforts may be ineffective or halfhearted (for example, I once got called up for jury duty in Illinois four years after I had moved out of state. They even sent it to my Minnesota address, as evidently nobody made the obvious connection that a Minnesota resident shouldn't be registered to vote or called for jury duty in Illinois).

As a result, being registered to vote is not proof that one is eligible to vote (though in practice it is often treated that way--our voting system relies to a large degree on the honor system). Lots of ineligible voters are registered all over the place.

Keep this in mind the next time you see a breathless or outraged article about dead people, out-of-state residents, or Mickey Mouse being registered to vote somewhere.