Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen talks voting preparations

MONTGOMERY, Ala. ( WHNT ) — There are fewer than 65 days until Election Day, and Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen is warning voters to prepare now before making plans to go to the polls.

“It’s not about the certain political party. It’s about your ideology,” said Henry Crawford, who registered to vote Monday. “And so you should make sure that you educate yourself on the certain ideologies, and it’s not just for one political party. It’s for ultimately the future of the country.”

As a first-time voter, Crawford said it’s important to weigh out what both parties have to offer.

“Especially with my generation, we’re so heavily impacted by social media and what social media has to say about certain things,” Crawford said. “But I wouldn’t let that dictate your vote because your vote matters.”

After registering online, Crawford said the process was not complicated. Allen said Oct. 21 is the deadline to get registered to vote.

“I would just encourage anyone that is not registered to vote, if they want to get registered to vote, to go online at alabamavotes.gov ,” Allen said. “Or you can go down to your local board of registrars.”

Allen said you’ll just need your driver license and last four of your social security number, and if you’ll be out of town on election day, Allen said absentee voting starts Sept. 11.

“If you work a shift at your job that coincides with the hours that the precincts are open or any number of reasons, go look at those nine different excuses, and make sure you have a plan to vote absentee,” Allen said.

You can apply for that absentee ballot application and check where to vote by clicking here .

Allen said over 3.8 million people are registered to vote in Alabama, making up 95% of the voting-age population.

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