NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Metro announced on Thursday that every registered voter in Davidson County will be signed up for one free year of identity protection.

The protection comes through a company called Debix Identity Protection, and it normally costs $99 a year.

The free services include fraud alerts, credit monitoring, theft insurance up to $10,000, and they'll help you opt out of pre-approved credit offers.

The measure is to help protect voters whose personal information was stolen when a laptop containing voter information was stolen from the Metro Election Commission. The names of 335,000 people and their Social Security numbers were in the laptops.

"We want people to feel comfortable in this big election year coming up, with the process to feel comfortable enough to come register to vote if they aren't registered to vote and for people who have already registered to feel like it's OK to still participate in the process," said Mayor Karl Dean's Chief of Staff Rita Roberts-Turner.

Metro will pay Debix about $9.75 for everyone who signs up. The city is likely to pass the cost on to Wackenhut Security, who had the contract to protect the Howard Office Building at the time of the break-in.

Affected residents will get a letter by the end of next week if they're a registered voter. The letter will explain how to activate the account, which is free for the first year. For those who want to buy a second year, a discounted rate of $9.50 will be available for customers.

Some Residents Have Already Paid For Credit Protection

Most people said that Metro government is doing the right thing by paying for ID theft protection. But what about the people who have already paid for theft protection out of their own pocket? Will they be reimbursed?

For residents who already bought their own protection, Metro will not reimburse them, and that decision didn’t add up for some Council members.

“Of course, they’re picking up 337,000 voters. So that cost should be picked up if you have already subscribed on your own because you are a part of the number,” said Councilman Edith Taylor Langster.

Janiece Harrison said she and her husband spent $60 freezing their credit and that she doesn't understand why she isn't part of the city's financial apology.

“You know, if they’re interested in No. 1, making sure that our credit is protected and then No. 2, that we don’t bear any financial burden for having to protect it, then they should come back and reimburse the people who acted quickly,” she said.

When Channel 4 asked the mayor's office why there would be no reimbursement, the answer seemed to indicate the idea was given little thought.

“Not through the government, no. Again, that may be something that Debix has through their company, I’m just not sure,” Roberts-Turner said.

The company Metro is using for the protection, Debix, is not offering to reimburse payments made to other companies, but it will give a refund to those who already paid them for the service. Debix said getting a refund from other companies is out of its power.

For those who want the protection, it’s only free for one year and available at a discounted rate for an optional second year.

Voters will get a letter next week detailing how to activate their accounts.

To visit Debix’s Web site, click here, or call 1-888-332 4963.