Alabama Faces Ballot Problems

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —  Counties across Alabama struggled to deal with a backlog of thousands of last-minute voter registrations as the state’s longtime head of voter registration quit Wednesday.

Secretary of State Nancy Worley said none of the problems should prevent anyone from voting, but she was still worried that confidence in the election system could be shaken.

With about 37,000 newly registered voters statewide in September and as many as 110,000 additional voters this year, county registration offices have been inundated with registration forms that need to be processed before the election. Friday is the deadline to register.

As counties deal with the surge of new voter forms, Anita Tatum, director of the state office of voter registration, said she resigned under pressure. She would not comment on the reasons for her departure two weeks before the election.