Voter registration and misleading information about how and where voters should register has been a hot topic during this election cycle. President Donald Trump and many other leaders have warned that voter confusion and misleading information may hinder people at the polls.
Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill was recently made aware of voter fraud that could lead voters to inadvertently give away personal information to an unknown source. Secretary Merrill was informed that a third party organization has been contacting voters with outdated and inaccurate information in order to encourage people to vote. However, this information isn’t needed and the organization sending out these letters isn’t affiliated with the Alabama Secretary of State.
According to the press release, the letter is being sent by Election Mail Service out of Austin, Texas, and encourages voters to visit ALVotes.org. That site is not associated with the Office of the Secretary of State. The letter indicates that the voter is not registered and even includes a voter registration application. These letters are using misspelled names and misleading data in order target voters throughout Alabama.
Secretary Merrill stated, “After being notified by numerous voters who have received information in the mail addressed to people who have passed away or no longer reside in our state, our office immediately contacted the Election Mail Service to stop spreading the false information, which has in turn only confused and misled voters. Alabamians should once again be reminded to use AlabamaVotes.gov as their trusted source for election information. Questions about the election should be answered directly by our Office at (334) 242-7200.”
Similar issues have happened in other states as well. In Georgia, third party organizations are sending out absentee ballots and confusing voters. Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger told CNN that the state’s voter list is available for purchase on the state website to any groups “for the purposes of outreach and education.” Third party organizations have stepped in for the November election because the state opted not to send out absentee ballot requests like they did in the June primary when they sent out 7 million absentee ballot applications. Raffenspereger instead has pushed for voters to request ballots on an absentee ballot website.
Walter Jones, Raffensperger’s voter education manager commented, “Third parties on the left, right and nonpartisan groups are sending applications to various targeted groups. Data collected from voters on their request forms should be redirected to county elections offices, not third parties.”
In Alabama, voters can check their voter registration status online using the registration portal.
