“Return to sender. Address unknown, no such number, no such zone.” – Winfield Scott and Otis Blackwell, performed by Elvis Presley

Raise your hand if you enjoy receiving those stacks of glossy, card stock, 6-by-9-inch political candidate postcards every election season.

I don’t see your hand going up. OK, I have to admit I am guessing about your hand position right now. Santa Claus is watching you, but I cannot, and I think we both prefer it that way.

Nevertheless, I think I am making a pretty good assumption. Most folks enjoy Christmas stocking stuffers – mailbox stuffers not so much.

Yet, political mailers are actually the one part of campaign propaganda marketing I do not mind because I have total control over it. If I don’t like the candidate or the message, the postcard can go straight to the recycling bin, whereas, I usually have to sit through an entire broadcast media political ad whether I like it or not.

But have you ever wondered how candidates get your mailing address? You might be surprised to know names and addresses of people registered to vote in Alabama can be purchased through the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office.

This practice is not unique to Alabama. Most, if not all, states provide voter lists to people willing to pay a fee to receive it, although, the laws governing who can make a request, the cost, the amount of voter information provided, and the exemption of some voters for safety concerns vary widely.

This brings us to Alabama House Bill 67 – sponsored by Rep. Jamie Kiel, R-Russellville – set to be introduced next month when the Alabama Legislature reconvenes.

Secretary of State Wes Allen, R-Troy, has also thrown his support behind the bill, and while I have disagreed with Allen here in this column on several recent topics, I agree with him that the Legislature should pass this bill.

Most importantly, the bill sets greater limitations on what voter information can be provided to people who purchase a voter list.

The law currently on the books only specifically prohibits the Secretary of State’s Office from providing any information associated with a voter’s Social Security number.

HB 67 would forbid providing additional information such as a voter’s driver’s license number, voter identification number, birthday, email address or telephone number.

This would essentially limit the data provided to third parties to only a voter’s name and address as well as information concerning the recent elections in which a voter cast a ballot. It offers greater protection for voters’ personal information.

Another positive going for this bill is it sets a cost cap of $1,000 for obtaining any voter list. Currently, the cost is set at a penny per voter name provided with no official limit on the purchase cost

The Secretary of State’s Office website lists the number of registered voters in the state at almost 3.8 million. That means, in theory, candidates for statewide office, such as attorney general or state auditor, would have to pay nearly $38,000 to get a copy of the statewide voter list should they want to reach every registered voter.

This cost might not be of great concern for some of the more well-funded candidates for higher-profile offices like governor or U.S. senator, but it could present difficulties for other candidates trying to reach voters directly.

Lower-profile candidates might receive the most benefit from sending out mailers since they likely receive less media coverage and possess weaker name identification.

Furthermore, since voter lists are no longer physically printed, but instead are provided digitally, paying more than $1,000 for any list seems excessive.

Finally, HB 67 clarifies that voter list data may not be resold by anyone nor may it be used for any commercial purposes. There are some loose restrictions on these topics in the current law, but this bill offers greater specificity.

This will hopefully mean you will never be placed on yet another credit card company’s mailing list just because you registered to vote.

Perhaps the only minor weakness of the bill, as currently written, is Alabama’s voter registration form provides applicants the opportunity to list their race, sex and birthplace. Some clarification about whether or not those records could be provided on purchased lists would be beneficial.

In addition, the bill does not offer any suggested legal penalties for a person or business caught using the list for commercial goals.

So now you know how politicians find your address, and passing this bill will at least keep them from knowing almost as much as Santa knows about you from 2026 and beyond.