Alabama voting issues
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Contents
Election and registration information
Voter ID requirements
Following is a list of acceptable forms of identification. Each voter should ensure that he or she has one form of identification available when he or she goes to vote.
Questions about the voter identification requirements may be directed to the Elections Division by email or by phone (242-7210, in the Montgomery area; or statewide at 1-800-274-8683).
A. Current, Valid Photo Identification
1. Government-issued photo identifications (current and valid) 2. Employee identification for employee with photo of employee produced by the employer 3. Photo identification card issued by Alabama college or university 4. Photo identification issued from Alabama technical or professional school (current and valid)
OR
B. One of the following
1. Utility bill of voter with voter's name and address 2. Bank statement with voter's name and address 3. Government check with voter's name and address 4. Paycheck with voter's name and address 5. Valid identification card (authorized by law) issued by the State of Alabama (including any branch, department, agency, or entity of the State of Alabama) 6. Valid identification card (authorized by law) issued by any of the other 49 states (including any branch, department, agency, or entity of that State) 7. Valid identification card (authorized by law) issued by the government of the United States of America (including any branch, department, agency, or entity of the federal government 8. Valid United States passport 9. Valid Alabama hunting license 10. Valid Alabama fishing license 11. Valid Alabama pistol/revolver permit 12. Valid pilot's license issued by the FAA or other authorized agency of the federal government 13. Valid United States military identification 14. Birth certificate (certified copy) 15. Valid Social Security card 16. Naturalization document (certified copy) 17. Court record of adoption (certified copy) 18. Court record of name change (certified copy) 19. Valid Medicaid card 20. Valid Medicare card 21. Valid electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card 22. Government document that shows the name and address of the voter
Note: Those items listed in Section B can be the original document (license, card, etc.) or a photocopy of the document.
Without one of these forms of identification, a voter is permitted to:
1. vote a challenged or provisional ballot 2. vote, if he or she is identified as a voter on the poll list who is eligible to vote by two poll workers and both poll workers sign the voting sign-in register by the voter's name
Voting machines
2008 election
For the 2008 election Alabama used the following voting machines. For a county-by-county list of the specific machines (and the source for this section) see Verified Voting's Verifier tool.
- Main article: Voting machines
Optical scan machines:
Assistive Devices for Marking Paper Ballots:
Governmental election authorities
Secretary of State Beth Chapman
Elections division website: http://www.sos.state.al.us/elections
Contact information:
- Voice: 334-242-7210
- Toll Free: 1-800-274-8683
- Fax: 334-242-2444
Physical Address
- 600 Dexter Ave, Suite E-208
- Montgomery, AL 36130
Mailing Address
- PO Box 5616
- Montgomery, AL 36103-5616
Election threats
- For an extensive log of voting machine problems, see the VotersUnite! report on election incidents.[1]
Voter registration in prisons
In September 2008, the state Republican Party chair Mike Hubbard sent a letter to Alabama corrections commissioner Richard Allen, opposing a voter registration drive for state prisoners. The state constitution allows prisoners to vote via absentee ballots, but the drive was halted in response to the GOP letter. [2] "Allen said he decided to stop the drive because of a section in the state code that prohibits using state-owned property to promote or advance candidates for election," even though the drive was non-partisan. "'While it is not clear that assisting voters to register would violate those provisions, I cannot expose departmental employees to that possibility,'" he wrote." [3]
The Rev. Kenneth Glasgow, who was leading the prison registration effort, responded by suing the Alabama Department of Corrections for stopping the drive. The lawsuit was settled on October 22, 2008. "The settlement lets activists hold voter-education sessions but bans them from supplying registration materials," reported USA Today. [4] "Flyers titled 'Voting While Incarcerated' will be posted on prison bulletin boards and in inmate law libraries, explaining how to register and obtain absentee ballots," according to an AP report. [5]
State and local non-governmental election organizations
League of Women Voters
LWV of Alabama, Mrs. Mary Bates, President
- 1304 Columbia Drive
- Birmingham, AL 35226
- Phone: 205-871-8194
- Fax: 205-879-8936
- E-mail: admin@lwval.org
- http://www.lwval.org/
Local Leagues:
Articles and resources
See also
- The main page on election protection and reform organizations.
- All articles in the Election Protection Wiki project.
- For election day: Things citizens can do to monitor elections and If you are told you cannot vote.
References
- ↑ See the VotersUnite! Election Problem Log.
- ↑ Anthony Papa, "Imprisoned Voters Take Aim at the Presidential Election," Huffington Post, September 19, 2008.
- ↑ Jay Reeves, "GOP pressure ends prisoner registration drive ," Associated Press, September 18, 2008.
- ↑ Kevin Johnson, "States grapple with voting status of felons," USA Today, November 2, 2008.
- ↑ Desiree Hunter, "Pastor, Ala. prisons settle suit on inmate voting," The Associated Press, October 21, 2008.
External resources
Poll location
- GoVote.org locates your polling place and other voting information.
- Google map polling locations locates most polling location, may be missing or out of date.
Election Protection hotlines
- 866-OUR-VOTE (National Election Protection Hotline)
- 888-VE-Y-VOTA (Español)
- 800-966-5946 (AALDEF, Asian languages)
- 866-MYVOTE1 (Tom Joyner Hotline - VoterAction, NAACP National Voter Fund)
- 877-523-2792 (ACLU Voting Rights Project Hotline)
- 877-US4-OBAMA (Obama campaign Voter Hotline)
- 866-976-VOTE (McCain campaign Honest and Open Election hotline - leave a message)
- 877-GOCNN08 (CNN Voter Problem Tipline)
- 888-VOTE-TIP (VelvetRevolution Election Protection Hotline for fraud)
- 567-258-VOTE (Twitter Vote Report key in report or leave audio message)
Voting information
- Vote411.org from the League of Women Voters provides all kinds of information to help you vote.
Voting rights
- ACLU's "Know Your Voting Rights - State by State" -- printable brochures summarizing your voting rights, for most states.
- One-page know your rights summaries for 27 states from the AFL-CIO.
Voting requirements
- Click here to see the voter ID requirements in all states. From the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Election officials, election reform groups, and elected officials
- Why Tuesday? offers a page for Alabama that helps locate Alabama's elections officials, election reform groups, and elected officials, as well as a page titled Find a group in your area that lets you find similar information for other states.
Absentee voting
- Click here to request an absentee ballot. Go Vote Absentee is a project of the Women Donors Network.
Disabled voters
- Information for voters with disabilities from NDRN.
Student voting rights
- See Alabama Student Voting Rights for a guide to student voting rights in Alabama. See Student Voting Rights for a guide to other states. From the Brennan Center for Justice.
State ballot
- See how organizations you trust recommend you vote on ballot measures and other statewide contests at TransparentDemocracy.
Languages
- Help in other languages from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. 中文, 日本語, 한국어, Tagalog, Tiếng Việt, Español
Voting machines
- Verified Voting's Alabama page, which provides detailed information on voting equipment in use in every county in Alabama.
Election law
- Election Law @ Moritz's Alabama page, which provides detailed information on election law developments in Alabama. See map page to see the information for election developments in any given state.
- Election Law @ Moritz's Alabama general information page, which provides information on Alabama election authorities, post-election processes, and other topics. See map page to see this information for any given state.
