Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen is cautioning the public after a ‘misleading’ election-related public service announcement is being circulated by the League of Women Voters’ campaign, Vote411, which he warns is collecting user information that can be used for marketing and shared with other groups.

The advertisement encourages Alabamians to register to vote using the website, however, according to Secretary Allen, the website captures a visitor’s personal data such as their IP address and contact information. After the info has been captured, the individual is only then directed to the Alabama Secretary of State’s website.

“It’s a sham,” said Allen. “This is simply a shady way to collect the IP addresses and personal data of Alabama citizens. In the website’s fine print, the League of Women Voters discloses that ‘The League may, from time to time, share the name and mailing address of its non-member financial supporters with other non-profit organizations.’ But they hide that in a small link, they hope no one will read.”

He assured voters that his office and local election officials would help to maintain the expected level of voting integrity in Alabama and also urged citizens not to use possibly compromising sites.

“There is no reason to use a data collection website like the one being managed by the League of Women Voters which will give your personal data to other entities without your knowledge and could likely put your personal data at risk,” Allen said.

“Skip these data-collecting websites and go directly to the secure website at AlabamaVotes.gov where your privacy will be respected.”

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten