DAYTON, Ohio -- On November 4th, we will be voting for President of the United States and other important political offices. But will some people be voting who shouldn't be?

A month-long investigation involving WHIO-TV and its sister stations around the country, found thousands of dead voters still on the active state voter registration rolls. We also found that some voters mysteriously voted long after their deaths.

In the Miami Valley alone, we found 3,856 dead voters still registered. Approximately 22 of them voted from beyond the grave.

George and Jean Watts of Beavercreek were stunned to find out that their deceased daughter Nancy, voted in the March 4th primary. Jean Watts said, "I couldn't believe it. She's been dead almost two years."

How did we get the results of our investigation? We compared death records to Ohio's voter registration list.

The Boards of Election in Ohio purge dead voters after they get the information from the Department of Health and the state's deceased records list. Steve Harsman, Director of the Montgomery County Board of Elections said, "If a person dies and we're not notified, they'll stay on our poll list, our voter registration list, for a period of time until they're purged under federal laws."

In graveyards from Atlanta, Seattle, Pittsburgh and Orlando, we found dead people still registered to vote.

Florida: 1663 dead voters in 8 counties near Orlando

Georgia: 1636 dead voters and dozens cast a ballot after death

California: 5,982 dead voters still registered in 9 counties around Oakland.

Pennsylvania: 9,000 dead people on the voter rolls in the Pittsburgh area.

No one can explain how dead people remain on the active rolls for years or how they vote from beyond the grave. We asked a local election officials if these are simply paperwork errors or something more sinister like voter fraud? Steve Harsman explains that true voter fraud is more rare than mistakes.

Harsman said, "In most cases, it's human error. That Boards of Elections will go in and delete the wrong person, or not delete them, or get their records mix-matched. "

Ohio requires identification to register to vote and to cast a ballot. But, it doesn't have to be a picture I.D. All you need is something as simple as a utility bill or a bank statement, anything with your name and address on it.

In Seattle, Jane Balogh was outraged that all you needed to vote was a name on a utility bill. Balogh said, "That is so lax, that my dog could vote."

So, Jane put her dog's name on her phone bill and signed a voter registration card with a picture of his paw print. The dog, Duncan McDonald, was registered and sent ballots!

Balogh said, "This is a serious matter because like I say, our democracy is truly at risk."

Jane was prosecuted and has paid a fine and performed community service for violating election laws. However, she believes she proved her point.

For a look at Ohio's voter registration rolls, log onto the Secretary of State's website.