Alabama Advisory Opinions October 05, 2000: AGO 2001-002 (October 5, 2000)

Alabama Attorney General Opinions

2000.

AGO 2001-002.

Dear Mr. Bennett:

This opinion of the Attorney General is issued in response to your request.

QUESTION 1

If a probate judge provides a certification that his or her county's poll lists are produced from data identical to data on ALVIN, may the Secretary of State's on-line access to ALVIN constitute compliance with the requirement for the probate judge to provide a copy of the poll list to the Secretary of State?

FACTS AND ANALYSIS

Pursuant to section 17-4-130 of the Code of Alabama, the probate judge must prepare alphabetical lists of registered voters by precincts, districts, or other subdivisions for delivery to each polling place. ALA. CODE § 17-4-130 (1995). These lists are prepared by using the information certified to the probate judge from the board of registrars. This section also provides as follows:

The judge of probate shall certify a copy of each such poll list to the Secretary of State and shall provide a copy to the board of registrars. Both the board of registrars and the judge of probate shall keep a current copy of such lists open and subject to public inspection.

ALA. CODE § 17-4-130 (1995).

Your request provides the following information:

Approximately 57 county boards of registrars are now on-line with the Alabama Voter Information Network (ALVIN). The Office of Voter Registration is responsible for maintaining the ALVIN system. The Office of Secretary of State has on-line access to ALVIN as well. Many probate judges arrange for the poll lists to be produced from either the ALVIN database or a mirror database containing identical data. The Office of the Secretary of State also has the capability to receive computer files on diskette or by e-mail attachment.

The poll lists currently received by the Office of the Secretary of State provide no benefit to the public and are merely warehoused at the state's expense.

The Office of Voter Registration has informed this Office that with respect to those counties on-line with the ALVIN system, the Office of Voter Registration incurs the costs of printing those lists provided to the probate judge that the probate judge then provides to the Secretary of State. Because the Secretary of State has access to the ALVIN database, the probate judge is mailing an unnecessary copy of the lists to the Secretary of State and causing the Office of Voter Registration to incur unnecessary printing costs.

Pursuant to section 17-4-20 of the Code of Alabama, the board of registrars shall not register any person to vote within 10 days prior to the election. ALA. CODE § 17-4-20 (1995). This Office has been informed that, at the close of business on this date, the registrars enter all voter registration applications that have been received up to this date into the computer system. The voters' list is then certified to the probate judge to be used by the probate judge to prepare the lists for the polling places. During this 10-day period before an election no information is added or deleted from the official certified list that is given to the probate judge.

Your question appears to be whether the probate judge may, after the 10-day cutoff for registration but before the date of the election, provide to the Secretary of State a statement certifying that a copy of the poll list is provided to the Secretary of State as such list appears in the ALVIN database. It is the opinion of this Office that this procedure complies with the requirements of section 17-4-130 because the Secretary of State has access to the information in the ALVIN database. The board of registrars and the probate judge, however, must keep a hard copy of the poll list open for public inspection.

CONCLUSION

A certification by a probate judge that the poll list is provided to the Secretary of State as that list appears in the ALVIN database constitutes compliance with section 17-4-130 of the Code of Alabama.

QUESTION 2

May the Office of Secretary of State accept a certified electronic copy or computer copy of the poll list from the probate judge in lieu of a paper copy in compliance with this section?

FACTS AND ANALYSIS

Section 17-4-130 of the Code of Alabama, as cited under Question 1, does not require the copy to be a paper copy. Copies may be made available by computer disk or other types of electronic transfer. See Opinions to Honorable Billy R. Weathington Jr., St. Clair County Attorney, dated March 13, 1997, A.G. No. 97-00135 and to Honorable Larry Bennich, Chairman, Morgan County Commission, dated February 2, 2000, A.G. No. 2000-076.

CONCLUSION

The Secretary of State may accept a certified electronic copy or a computer copy of the poll list that must be provided by a probate judge pursuant to section 17-4-130 of the Code of Alabama.

QUESTION 3

If the answer to Question 2 is in the affirmative, may the certification be performed by e-mail or fax from a probate judge to the Office of the Secretary of State?

FACTS AND ANALYSIS

Facsimile signatures are authorized under certain circumstances pursuant to section 1-3-3 of the Code of Alabama, which provides in pertinent part:

Any signature required or permitted to be placed on any such instrument for the purpose of attesting or authenticating the same, or certifying to the registration or validation thereof, or certifying to any other matter pertaining thereto, may be imprinted or otherwise reproduced thereon in facsimile, and it shall not be necessary that such signature be manually inscribed thereon . . . .

ALA. CODE § 1-3-3 (1999). Pursuant to this section, a probate judge may certify the poll lists to the Secretary of State by a facsimile signature.

CONCLUSION

A facsimile signature may be used by a probate judge to certify the poll lists to the Secretary of State.

I hope this opinion answers your questions. If this Office can be of further assistance, please contact Brenda F. Smith of my staff.

Sincerely,

BILL PRYOR

Attorney General

By: CAROL JEAN SMITH

Chief, Opinions Division

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