Alabama Democratic Party

"The law is clear, the legislative intent is clear and it is absolutely not burdensome or costly for the Secretary of State's Office to honor the law and grant our reasonable request", Turnham said. "The Democratic and the Republican Parties are entitled to an update for each statewide election that occurs in a year. That means a minimum of 4 updates...one for the Presidential Preference Primary, one for the primary, one for the runoff and one for the General Election. It does not mean one for the year. The party last received an update in April of this year. Since the denial of our requests, tens of thousands of voters have been added to the rolls, and we need to communicate with them."

"This week we are filing suit in Montgomery County Circuit Court asking the court to force Secretary Chapman to follow the law and follow the precedent that has been in effect since 2003 and grant the parties two more voter file updates before November 4th." Turnham added.

Alabama Democrats are also writing to the Department of Justice Voting Rights Division expressing their concern about changing a voting election procedure without pre-clearance and also about the party's grave concern over the delay in the processing of voter registration applications statewide. "Secretary Chapman is the chief election officer for the state and is responsible for voter registration in Alabama. By Beth Chapman's own admission, voter registration and turnout will be historic. We have numerous reports of Registrar offices being inundated with applications that they are unable to process in a timely manner; offices running out of voter registration forms and offices closed during normal business hours. Secretary Chapman should deploy staff, resources and managerial assistance to these offices immediately to accommodate Alabama voters." Turnham exclaims.

 "The Alabama Democratic Party is here to serve democracy and the people of Alabama. Every citizen qualified to vote and wanting to register should be accommodated. The most current listing of registered voters should be made available to the state parties immediately. For the Secretary of State's office to proclaim they are concerned about voter fraud, but to allow these situations to exist calls into question either partisan motivations or core competency questions." Turnham concluded.

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FROM THE CODE OF ALABAMA:

Section 17-4-33
Computerized statewide voter registration list.

The State of Alabama shall provide, through the Secretary of State, a nondiscriminatory, single, uniform, official, centralized, interactive computerized statewide voter registration list defined, maintained, and administered by the Secretary of State, with advice from the Voter Registration Advisory Board and the President of the Alabama Probate Judges Association, which contains the name and registration information of every legally registered voter in the state. The computerized list shall comply with the following requirements:

(1) It shall serve as the single system for storing and managing the official list of registered voters throughout the state.

(2) It shall contain the name, address, and voting location, as well as other information deemed necessary by the Voter Registration Advisory Board or the Secretary of State, of every legally registered voter in the state.

(3) A unique identifier shall be assigned to each legally registered voter in the state.

(4) It shall contain the voting history of each registered voter.

(5) It shall be coordinated with the driver's license database of the Department of Public Safety and the appropriate state agency to assist in the removal of deceased voters.

(6) Any election official in the state, including any local election official, may obtain immediate electronic access to the information contained in the computerized list.

(7) All voter registration information obtained by any registrar in the state shall be electronically entered into the computerized list on an expedited basis at the time information is provided to the registrar.

(8) The Secretary of State shall provide such support as may be required so that registrars are able to enter voter registration information.

(9) It shall serve as the official voter registration list for the conduct of all elections.

(10) The Secretary of State shall furnish one copy of the computerized list free of charge to each political party that has satisfied the ballot access requirements for a statewide election within two weeks of the date of a written request for the list by the chair of the political party.

(11) The list shall be maintained so that it is technologically secure.

(Acts 1989, No. 89-649, p. 1279, §1; Act 2003-313, p. 733, §2; §17-4-210; amended and renumbered by Act 2006-570, p. 1331, §18.)

COPY OF E-MAIL COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ALABAMA DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE:

From: Charles Dykes [mailto:Charles.Dykes@sos.alabama.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 1:34 PM
To: Brannon Walden
Subject: Voter Registration Information System data quote
 
Dear Brannon,
 
The quote for your most recent data request from the Voter Registration Information System is $28,170.13.The quote includes active and inactive registered voters in the State of Alabama. These data are produced  for the Alabama Democratic Party as per your request.  If you would like to pay by credit card we can process your payment over the phone. Your data will be sent as soon as the transaction is complete (usually within the hour).  Please respond to this message via email if possible with the name and phone number of a contact person as well as a time of availability for me to call. You may also contact me at (334) 242-7222 if you are unable to reach me at my desk.
 
If you would prefer to pay by check please make the check payable to: Secretary of State, Information Systems Division, 11 S. Union St. Suite 110, Montgomery, Al 36130. You may attention to: Charles Dykes. Your report/file will be sent as soon as this office is in receipt of your payment.
 
Thanks.........Charles
 
 
Charles T. Dykes
Office of the Secretary of State
Information Systems
Phone: (334) 353-5982
Fax:   (334) 353-4418
charles.dykes@sos.alabama.gov