Voters warned of registration scam
Published 10:18 pm Thursday, August 9, 2012
Secretary of State Beth Chapman announced Wednesday that there have been untrue reports on Facebook posts and also email messages regarding the need to “re-register” to vote in the upcoming election.
The emails and posts generally state that if a voter have not voted in an election since 2008, they must re-register to vote 30 days before the election or they will not be allowed to vote in November.
“This is false information and voters should not be misled by this ‘re-registration’ hoax,” Chapman said.
Chapman said she wants to make sure currently registered voters know their names will still be on the voter lists regardless of whether they have voted in past elections or not.
“In fact, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 specifically prohibits covered states from removing individuals from the voter rolls solely for lack of voting for any period of time,” Chapman said.
The State of Alabama’s voter registration cut off is 10 days prior to an election. The registration deadline for upcoming municipal elections is Aug. 17. For the Sept. 18 Special Constitutional Amendment Election that deadline is Sept. 7 and for the November General Election the deadline will be Oct. 26.
A citizen wishing to register to vote may download a registration form at www.alabamavotes.govand mail or hand-deliver it to their county Board of Registrars. A citizen may also register to vote when applying for or renewing a State of Alabama driver’s license or identification card, at state and local Department of Human Resources offices, Department of Health WIC offices, Medicaid and Department of Rehabilitation offices. Mail-in voter registration forms can be found at public libraries, armed forces recruiting stations, local probate judges’ offices, universities, public schools and colleges.
A registered voter may need to update information by changing their name or address since the last election and that may be done through the local Board of Registrars in each county.
Anyone with questions concerning voter registration information, visit www.alabamavotes.govand follow the links to check personal voter registration status. Voters may also contact the Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s office at 1-800-274-VOTE.