HB277 Alabama 2020 Session

Under existing law, a registered voter or a minor in the legal custody of a registered voter, who is a victim of domestic violence and has been issued an order pursuant to the Domestic Violence Protection Order Enforcement Act, can submit a signed written affidavit requesting that the Secretary of State omit the residential and mailing address of the registered voter on any generally available list of registered voters

This bill would permit a registered voter or the spouse of a registered voter, who is a federal or state prosecutor, federal, state, probate, or municipal judge, or law enforcement officer, to submit a signed written affidavit requesting that the Secretary of State omit all information except the name of the registered voter or the spouse of the registered voter

Relating to voter registration lists; to amend Section 17-4-33, Code of Alabama 1975, to permit a registered voter or the spouse of a registered voter, who is a federal or state prosecutor, federal, state, probate, or municipal judge, or law enforcement officer, to submit a signed written affidavit requesting that the Secretary of State omit all information except the name of the registered voter or the spouse of the registered voter.

Section 1

Section 17-4-33, Code of Alabama 1975, is amended to read as follows:

§17-4-33.

(a) 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) Following each state and county election, the Secretary of State shall provide one electronic copy of the computerized voter list free of charge to each political party that satisfied the ballot access requirements for that election. The electronic copy of the computerized voter list shall be provided within 30 days of the certification of the election or upon the completion of the election vote history update following the election, whichever comes first. In addition, upon written request from the chair of a political party, the Secretary of State shall furnish up to two additional electronic copies of the computerized voter file during each calendar year to each political party that satisfied the ballot access requirements during the last statewide election held prior to that calendar year. The electronic copies provided pursuant to this section shall contain the full, editable data as it exists in the computerized voter list maintained by the Secretary of State.

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

(b) The Secretary of State, or judge of probate, or absentee election manager, or municipal clerk, or registrar shall include the name and omit the residential and mailing address all other information of a registered voter on any generally available list of registered voters, except for those lists provided to federal and state agencies, upon the written signed affidavit of the registered voter to the board of registrars of the county in which the individual is registered or intends to register, affirming either one of the following:

(1) That the registered voter, or a minor who is in the legal custody of the registered voter, is or has been the victim of domestic violence as provided in Article 7, commencing with Section 13A-6-130, of Chapter 6 of Title 13A.

(2) That a domestic violence order is or has been issued by a judge or magistrate pursuant to the Domestic Violence Protection Order Enforcement Act, to restrain access to the registered voter or a minor who is in the legal custody of the registered voter.

(3) That the registered voter is a federal or state prosecutor, federal, state, probate, or municipal judge, or law enforcement officer as defined in Chapter 21 of Title 36 or the spouse of a federal or state prosecutor, federal, state, probate, or municipal judge, or law enforcement officer as defined in Chapter 21 of Title 36. The Secretary of State shall develop and provide to each county the affidavit to be completed under this subsection."

Section 2

This act shall become effective immediately following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.