MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen activated a new replacement for the Electronic Registration Information Center on Monday, a move which he said he believes "will allow Alabama to have the cleanest and most accurate voter registration list in the country."
Called AVID, or the Alabama Voter Integrity Database, the system was created in partnership with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Allen said AVID will identify registered voters in Alabama who have moved and obtained a license or ID in another state. "By comparing our voter list to the list of states who have signed a memorandum of understanding with Alabama, we can identify individuals who are registered to vote in Alabama but who are also registered to vote in another state," his office wrote in an explanatory flyer.
The database will use information culled from the United States Postal Service's National Change of Address List. Allen says more than 30,000 active registered voters have notified the USPS they have relocated outside of the state.
Those whose information appears on this list will be notified via postcard to update their information on the statewide Alabama Votes website.
AVID also accesses information from the Social Security Death Index. The secretary said this information will identify those on the voter list who have passed away, and allow officials to "immediately remove them from our voter rolls."
Allen said all data is secured via encryption and resides on a state-owned server.