Autauga citizens raise concerns over County voter rolls

A group of citizens brought concerns about the accuracy and oversight of Autauga County’s voter rolls before the County Commission last week, adding the County to a growing list of Alabama communities where residents are conducting their own reviews of voter records.

The group addressed the Autauga County Commission during its Sept. 15 meeting after spending some eight months reviewing voter data and election records.

Their findings centered on voter-list accuracy, local control and the ability of citizens and County officials to audit election records.

Presenters said they found records they believe warrant further review, including voters who had remained active despite long periods of inactivity, deceased people who allegedly remained on the rolls for years, and registrations tied to business addresses, post office boxes or vacant properties.

They also raised questions about records involving alleged noncitizens and people with criminal convictions that could affect their eligibility to vote.

The claims presented to Commissioners have not been independently established through a court or law-enforcement investigation. A questionable voter record also does not, by itself, establish that an illegal vote was cast.

Still, Alabama has documented cases of ineligible people remaining on its voter rolls.

Earlier this year, Secretary of State Wes Allen announced that Alabama had removed 186 noncitizens from its voter rolls after comparing voter records with the federal SAVE immigration database. According to Allen's office, voting histories showed that 25 of those people had cast ballots in Alabama elections. Those identified were given an opportunity to provide proof of U.S. citizenship before removal.

The Autauga presenters also questioned how much direct control local officials have over voter data. They argued that reliance on centralized election systems and outside vendors makes meaningful local oversight more difficult.

That point requires some distinction. Alabama's Statewide voter registration system is centralized, but the Secretary of State says Alabama's AVID voter-list maintenance data is stored in Alabama on a State-owned server. County Boards of Registrars remain responsible for registering and removing voters in their counties.

The citizen group wants more control returned to the County level, along with independent audits that can verify whether voters are eligible, living where their registration says they live and assigned to the correct precinct.

Their presentation was not an isolated event.

Similar citizen-led reviews have now been brought before County commissions in several parts of Alabama.

In Shelby County, residents told commissioners that their review found records involving deceased voters, people who had moved, questionable addresses and other possible eligibility issues. They also complained about barriers to obtaining and independently auditing voter data. As in Autauga County, those allegations have not been independently proven.

In Morgan County, four residents appeared before commissioners in July after reviewing local election and voter-registration records. The speakers said unusual records did not necessarily prove illegal voting, but argued that the findings showed a need for closer scrutiny and better list maintenance.

Residents made a similar case in Walker County, where citizens asked County officials to take a larger role in oversight of voter rolls and election administration.

The Autauga presentation ended with Commissioners and the speakers discussing Alabama's Boards of Registrars and how registrars are selected.

Those boards play a central role in the process. According to the Secretary of State, County registrars are solely responsible for registering and removing voters and are charged with regular voter-file maintenance under State and federal law.

For the citizens conducting these independent reviews, however, the larger issue is whether the current system provides enough local oversight and outside verification.

With similar presentations now reaching Commissions in Autauga, Shelby, Morgan and Walker Counties, what began as scattered citizen reviews is developing into a broader Statewide debate over who controls Alabama's voter data — and how the public can independently verify that the rolls are accurate.

The full citizen’s presentations may be seen on YouTube and below: