ATLANTA — It all began with a spreadsheet that you can find on the Secretary of State's website - with a lot of information about absentee voters.
11Alive got calls, emails, tweets, Facebook messages - you name it - about the list, all wondering if it was legal. So we went digging.
According to Georgia law, voter absentee ballot information is, by law, public record.
Anyone looking for access to the names, addresses, voter registration numbers and more, can get a copy from the Secretary of State's office.
But there are two specific categories that had some of our 11Alive viewers concerned - it has to do with a voter's age and whether they're disabled. Some voiced concern that criminals could use the information to go hunting for the most vulnerable.
However, Brian Robinson, a Republican strategist said the more transparency there is, the better. But, he agreed that there are exceptions.
"Now are there special cases where people need, for their own personal safety, to have less information out there," he said.
That's where the Vote Safe program comes in. It's a Georgia law passed in 2009 that protects certain registered voters. For example, if they're victims of domestic violence, their names could be made confidential.
But Dee Dawkins-Haigler, a Democratic strategist believes being elderly or disable shouldn't matter or be on the list.
"There are many ways that you can identify someone without putting the actual words in there," she said.
Regardless, that information is included as part of state law.
11Alive reached out to the Secretary of State's office for clarification. In a statement, spokesperson Candice Broce reiterated that the "information is public information. It does not contain confidential or sensitive data."
She also went on to say that if the office did not make the information, "we would be breaking state law."
