By Morgan Bryce
Staff Reporter
On July 28, Alabama’s Secretary of State John Merrill issued a statement saying that approximately 1.2 million eligible Alabamians who are either not registered or needing updated voter registration information will receive a mail-in voter registration application.
Alabama is in its second year partnering with the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) to reach out to unregistered voters, to help them find the easiest means of voter registration.
According to information provided by ERIC’s website, “ERIC is a non-profit organization with the sole mission of assisting states to improve the accuracy of America’s voter rolls and increase access to voter registration for all eligible citizens. ERIC is governed and managed by states who choose to join, and was formed in 2012 with assistance from The Pew Charitable Trusts.”
Becky Bailey, of the Lee County Board of Registrars, said that the outreach program has already exceeded their expectations.
“It’s helping get a lot of people registered and it’s helping in getting our voters updated,” Bailey said.
Bailey said she believed the upcoming presidential elections are another reason why they are seeing an increase in voter registration.
“According to the number of people who have transferred here and the amount of new registered voters we have, I would say that this year’s election turnout is going to be huge,” Bailey said.
Those who receive the application can register or update their voting information by mailing their form back to the Lee County Board of Registrars, located at 215 S. Ninth St., visiting alabamavotes.gov/vote or downloading the Vote for Alabama app.