Would Be Voter Told He Can’t Vote Because He’s Dead

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I’m still waiting for my IRS refund. It’s only been four months now, but hey I’m still alive, and that’s more than Dale Hopfinger can say. You see he was told he was dead and as a result he couldn’t vote.

Dale Hopfinger is a patriot. He feels it's his duty to go to the polls. (Hakunamatata) — Dale Hopfinger is a patriot. He feels it’s his duty to go to the polls. (Hakunamatata)

You can run into the most annoying little delays at the polls on election night: long lines, broken levers, software issues, being told you can’t vote because you’re dead. That last hindrance threatened to stop Dale Hopfinger from handing in his ballot on Nov. 4 in Lee Township, Michigan,reports the AP.

Even after the puzzled 48-year-old pulled out his ID to prove he was who he said he was (and, in fact, alive), a poll worker insisted town records showed Hopfinger as deceased—he even had a date of death listed as Sept. 25,WNEM reports. Hopfinger was able to vote “after some persuasion,” the AP notes, but he’s still got to figure out why he’s technically listed as no longer being among the living.

The Social Security Administration has reportedly told Hopfinger it was “likely a clerical error”; he’s heading over to a local SSA branch today to try to clear it up once and for all. The SSA is sure it can solve the problem quickly, as long as Hopfinger has a valid picture ID, WNEM notes. Hopfinger, who tells the station that his inaccurate demise prevented him from co-signing on a car loan and that he’s concerned it might affect his credit, is praying it’s a simple fix. “You know that’s just all I was hoping for, something simple and not [having] to get a lawyer involved or anything like that,” he tells WNEM.