In early August, Clarence Toppo, a 38-year-old IT worker from the eastern Indian state of Bihar, learned from a friend that his mother was officially dead. This came as a surprise to Toppo, for he lives with his mother, who is very much alive. Mary Toppo, 74, was only deceased in the eyes of the Indian government, which had recently launched a sprawling effort to verify the identity of every registered voter in Bihar—and to delete nonresidents and the deceased from the voter list. Clarence