Secretary of State Alerts Voters to Re-registration Hoax

Secretary of State Beth Chapman announced today 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 you have not voted in an election since 2008, you must re-register to vote 30 days before the election or you will not be allowed to vote in November.

“This is false information and voters should not be misled by this ‘re-registration’ hoax,” said Chapman.

Chapman wants to make sure that 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,” Chapman stated, “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.”

The State of Alabama’s voter registration cut off is 10 days prior to an election. The registration deadline for upcoming municipal elections is August 17, 2012.  For the September 18^th Special Constitutional Amendment Election that deadline is September 7, 2012 and for the November General Election the deadline will be October 26, 2012. A citizen wishing to register to vote may download a registration form at www.alabamavotes.gov and 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.

If you have questions concerning your voter registration information, please visit www.alabamavotes.gov and follow the links to check your personal voter registration status.  Voters may also contact the Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s office at 1-800-274-VOTE.

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Media Contact:                     Emily Thompson

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