Woman purged from voter rolls is not dead

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COLLEGE PARK, Fla., July 18 (UPI) -- A Florida woman said a letter saying she has been removed from voter rolls due to her death is the second such letter she has received.

Constance Smith, 61, of College Park, said she received a letter from the Orange County Supervisor of Elections office Friday, the same day her absentee ballot arrived in the mail, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel reported Wednesday.

"This letter is to inform you that the person named above has been removed from the Orange County vote rolls after we received notification of their death," the notice read.

Smith said she received a similar letter in 2008, which officials attributed to the death of a woman with a similar name who had the same birth date. She said it took her six months to clear up the mistake in 2008 and it involved her obtaining a "non-death" certificate from the Florida Department of Health.

Linda Tanko, deputy supervisor of elections for Orange County, said the error may have been the result of the Social Security Administration sharing erroneous information with the Florida Division of Elections.

"We certainly apologize. I've already taken the steps to get her straight on the books," Tanko said. "But I'm only as good as the next death list that comes down" from the capital.