Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen claims the website Vote 411 is stealing personal information.
The secretary of state is accusing a popular election information website of stealing your personal data.
Wes Allen's calling for transparency. He wants the League of Women Voters (LWV) to be more honest and upfront when it comes to collecting personal information on their .
"I'm exposing a data-mining operation that's masquerading as a voter registration drive," Allen said.
He claims the website steals your personal data without your permission.
"They are not a voter registration website," Allen said. "The trusted source, trusted website, is ."
However, Kathy Jones says Vote411 is a tool meant to help folks on both sides of the aisle navigate the election process. She's the president of the League of Women Voters of Alabama.Â
Jones says they do collect personal data, but she says they are fully transparent about where that data goes, claiming they never share or sell any of that data.
"We believe that democracy works better when everyone votes," Jones explained. "I am not sure if he went through and looked through all the other capabilities that it had."
WAAY 31 Reporter Jillian Kay decided to try out the site herself. She learned when you click on the "Register to Vote" tab, it takes you to a page that asks you to enter your email and zip code.
That page then takes you to another with more detailed questions such as your address, driver's license I.D. and birthday. Once you submit that form, you end up on the Secretary of State's voter registration site.
"We're talking to the national league about modifying that link so that it goes, instead of going through that two steps, it goes directly to the secretary of state's office," Jones said.
To be fair, the fine print on the site's first page does say, "By continuing, you accept Rock the Vote's privacy policy and agree to receive occasional election reminder emails from Rock the Vote."
That disclaimer also says you can opt out anytime. However,ÌýSecretary Allen wants more transparency.
"I just think it's wrong," Allen said. "I think if they're going to capture the personal information, let's just make sure we tell the public and be up front about it. Let's not hide it in the fine print."
Secretary Allen wants folks to register to vote directly through
Jones hopes folks at least check out the educational election tools she says Vote411 has to offer.
The League of Women Voters says their Vote411 website offers helpful election tools to both sides of the aisle.
