UPDATE: Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen issued a statement in response to the press release from the Voter Participation Center and Center for Voter Information.

The full statement is below:

“The response issued by the Voter Participation Center and Center for Voter Information fails to refute and, in fact, advances our position that these groups are using targeted, partisan tactics. The claim that these groups are nonpartisan is false and is completely contradicted when the groups publicly reveal their targeted demographic to be primarily Democratic voter blocks.

As Secretary of State, I want all eligible Alabamians, not just specific voter blocks, to be able to register to vote using the proper channels. These groups’ unsolicited efforts to advance a political agenda directly contradict this ideal and are not welcome in Alabama.

Further, I would like to make very clear that the only “misleading and alarming” message to Alabama citizens has been at the hands of VPC and CVI. VPC and CVI are unable to deny the instances of errors in their mailers and, in fact, instruct the Alabama citizens who will inevitably receive inaccurately pre-filled mailers to discard them.

Trusted voter registration can be found online at www.AlabamaVotes.gov. This Office and the Boards of Registrars in all 67 counties are here to assist eligible Alabama citizens in the process of registering to vote.”

UPDATE: The Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office and County of Circuit Clerks are joining the conversation about “misleading mailers distributed by the private entity The Voter Participation Center.”

According to a press release, there have been numerous calls regarding the mailers.

The mailers say that someone at the address may not be registered to vote and encourage completion of a submission of a voter registration form.

Below is a pdf file showing the mailer.

Mississippi officials say these mailers are not official correspondence and is not an indication of a change in anyone’s voter registration status.

The release notes, “It is critically important to remember you should get your election information from trusted sources, such as your local election officials and the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office. Further, entities like The Voter Participation Center may obtain physical mailing address information through Freedom of Information Act requests.”

Officials recommend that Mississippi voters with questions about their voter registration status visit Y’all Vote Mississippi’s website. Alternatively, Mississippians can find the contact information for their County Clerk on the Secretary of State’s website.

For additional questions, voters can contact the Elections Hotline at 1-800-829-6786 or email ElectionsAnswers@sos.ms.gov.

UPDATE: Officials with the Voter Participation Center and the Center for Voter Information spoke out, saying the “Alabama Secretary of State grossly mischaracterized the essential work that we do to register eligible Americans to vote.”

PREVIOUS STORY:

ALABAMA (WKRG) — Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen warned voters Monday of a misleading and unsolicited mass mailing of pre-filled voter registration forms targeting Alabama mailboxes in a release.

According to the release, the mailer has no affiliation with the State of Alabama and has been officially discouraged by the Alabama Office of the Secretary of State.

The groups operating the mass mailing are the Voter Participation Center and Center for Voter Information. The release said the two groups appear to be run by the same organization.

The Alabama Secretary of State has sent written objections to their efforts because of the confusion they can create.

“On two occasions, this Office was contacted on behalf of Voter Participation Center and Center for Voter Information regarding a mailer they planned to send to Alabama citizens. In response, I strongly discouraged the group’s plan to mass mail our citizens,” Allen said. “This type of targeted, partisan interference by out-of-state, third-party organizations is unnecessary, confusing, and counterproductive.”

The Secretary of State’s office has received complaints from Alabama residents who received incorrect pre-filled voter registration forms similar to the ones being sent out by the Voter Participation Center and Center for Voter Information.

“Alabama citizens can rest assured that the Alabama Secretary of State’s office and local election officials are well-equipped to handle voter registration in Alabama,” Allen said. “Trusted voter registration and election information can be found on the Secretary of State’s official website.”

Alabamians can register to vote online or mail a voter registration form to their local Board of Registrars.