Alabama lawmakers could pass a bill that changes the rules of absentee voting in the last day of the legislative session. The state legislature is poised to meet on Tuesday, June 6th for the 30th and last day of the 2023 session.
Possibly on the agenda is House Bill 209 (HB209), proposed by Rep. Jamie Kiel, R-Russellville. The legislation would ban people from assisting others with an absentee ballot except for certain circumstances. The proposal only allows help from those related to the voter, living with the voter or appointed by an election official. It also prohibits someone from paying or receiving money for assisting with an absentee ballot application.
Supporters of HB209 say it’s meant to increase the integrity of voting and be used as a safeguard against voting fraud. Opponents say there’s little evidence to show the crime is being committed in the state.
Carrol Prickett is the Acting Spokesperson for the League of Women Voters of Greater Tuscaloosa. She said that instead of a study showing voting fraud, there are studies proving a need for assistance in absentee voting.
“What there has been is documentation of how many absentee ballots have been discarded because they were not submitted correctly,” she explained. “And this is a great frustration to the people who process these ballots, because they have to throw out quite a number of them.”
Under the legislation, absentee voters would be limited in who they choose to assist them in various aspects of the absentee voting process. Even if a friend attempts to pay gas money for someone to deliver an absentee ballot, or even gives a stamp to mail in someone’s application, HB209’s rule that criminalizes payment for absentee ballot services may prohibit it. This could result in a felony charge and several years behind bars. Opponents like Pickett said this bill would create fear and could discourage voting.
“It could potentially criminalize anyone who assists a senior citizen, a college student, a person with disabilities, a homebound person, a person with immune compromised status, from even getting an absentee ballot, much less being able to fill it out and return it in the proper manner,” she explained.
But Secretary of State Wes Allen supports HB209. In an editorial on the SOS website, he said in a statement, “Over the last decade, there have been multiple convictions for absentee ballot fraud across the state of Alabama. As a Probate Judge, a legislator and now as Secretary of State, I am committed to eliminating election fraud in our state. HB209 makes incredible strides in protecting the rights of Alabama voters to cast their own votes without undue influence.”
Allen goes on to say in the statement, “{HB209} would eliminate the ability of organizations to sow the seeds of chaos and confusion by sending pre-filled absentee applications into our state. Our elections are the foundation of our constitutional republic, and nobody should be paid for their absentee application or their ballot. Ballot harvesting should not be a job description.”
There are few alternatives for those who need assistance for voting. Exceptions to the prohibitions of the bill include family living in the same household, second degree relatives, or persons in their county, such as the probate office.
Carrol Prickett with the League of Women Voters of Greater Tuscaloosa said fear of getting a criminal record for voting absentee incorrectly, or that anyone who helps would be courting criminal charges and a criminal record, may be a common concern for people if the bill is passed. She said another reason why the League of Women Voters of Greater Tuscaloosa opposes HB209 is because it poses voting as a privilege and not as a right.
“We are simply trying to make sure that they go through the very complicated process of applying and sending absentee ballot in the correct way so that their vote will be counted, because every citizen has the right to vote,” she explained. “Our previous Secretary of State and our current ones have called this a privilege. It is a right, not a privilege, and it's a right for every citizen who meets the voter qualifications of the state of Alabama.”
With only one more day in the 2023 legislative session, opponents said they hope HB209 will not get around voting in time but are getting ready for the legislation to come back in 2024.
“It will be on the table again next year,” Pickett said. “We'll just have even more ammunition to talk about it next year.”
Track the status of HB209 here: https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/bill-search?tab=1
