Increased voter registration campaigns the past decade have increased the empowerment of minorities, younger people and the lower income groups. However, controversial policies and practices in many battleground States have removed the names form the voter registration rolls or have block potential voters from registering.

A New York Times investigation, upon review of review of state records and Social Security data in many of the battleground states in the US, indicated that the actions appear to violate US Federal laws.

"The actions do not seem to be coordinated by one party or the other, nor do they appear to be the result of election officials intentionally breaking rules, but are apparently the result of mistakes in the handling of the registrations and voter files as the states tried to comply with a 2002 federal law, intended to overhaul the way elections are run.

Still, because Democrats have been more aggressive at registering new voters this year, according to state election officials, any heightened screening of new applications may affect their party’s supporters disproportionately. The screening or trimming of voter registration lists in the six states — Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina — could also result in problems at the polls on Election Day: people who have been removed from the rolls are likely to show up only to be challenged by political party officials or election workers, resulting in confusion, long lines and heated tempers.

Some states allow such voters to cast provisional ballots. But they are often not counted because they require added verification. -- New York Times"