The Black Belt Folk Roots Festival will host a booth to accommodate voter registration and free voter ids for the local community. In an effort to ensure that all eligible Alabama citizens are afforded the opportunity to vote, Alabama’s Secretary of State John H. Merrill has asked the state’s election team to participate in as many festivals within the state of Alabama this summer to provide online voter registration and free voter IDs to eligible attendees.
The Secretary of State’s office will set up its Mobile Voter ID Unit at the Festival activities on Sunday, August 28, 2016. The Unit will be set up behind the Greene County Industrial Development Authority’s office on the old courthouse square.Since June 3, 2014, to participate in an Alabama election, a citizen must be registered to vote and present a valid form of photo ID. Forms of photo ID accepted at the polls include valid:
driver’s license; * Alabama photo voter ID card; * state issued ID (any state); * federal issued ID; * US passport; * employee ID from Federal Government, State of Alabama, County, Municipality, Board, or other entity of this state; *student or employee ID from a public or private college or university in the State of Alabama (including postgraduate technical or professional schools); * Military ID; or Tribal ID. To receive a free Alabama photo voter ID card a citizen must be a registered voter and must not have one of the valid forms of photo ID listed above.
When applying for the free Alabama photo voter ID, a voter must show: a photo ID document or a non-photo identity document that contains full legal name and date of birth; documentation showing the voter’s date of birth; documentation showing the person is a registered voter; and documentation showing the voter’s name and address as reflected in the voter registration record. A citizen’s name, address, and voter registration status can be verified by Secretary of State staff, using the statewide voter registration system.
Examples of non-photo ID documents that can be used in applying for a free Alabama photo voter ID card include a birth certificate, marriage record, Social Security Administration document, hospital or nursing home record, Medicare or Medicaid document, or an official school record or transcript.
For more information on the process on how to receive a free voter ID, voters can call 1-800-274-VOTE or go to http://www.alabamavoterid.com. The mobile site schedule is also posted there.