Alabama Secretary of State Jim Bennett Tuesday released the certified rules for Alabama’s new voter photo ID program which will go into effect for the June primaries in 2014. The release and website posting follows a 35-day public comment where his office received and considered 51 proposed comments in the preliminary rules filed in June. “We gave each of them thoughtful consideration and did make some revisions,” Bennett said. “We also met with various legislators, voter groups, senior citizen organizations, disabled citizens and nursing home administrators to gather their input.” The free voter ID process should begin as soon as January after a vendor’s contract is finalized and election officials are trained.
Rule revisions added provisions of the U.S. Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act that provide an exemption for elderly and handicapped voters who vote absentee and cannot get to their regular voting places due to a disability. They still must attest to the fact that they are the person who is filing for the application.
The Alabama Legislature mandated the voter photo ID requirement two years ago to replace a list of 26 previous forms of identification, which ranged from everything from a fishing license to a utility bill. That rule was adopted in 2003.
Full Article: Final voter photo ID rules issued for Alabama.