A united front of civil, disability and voting rights organizations on Thursday sued Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, the state’s 42 District Attorneys, and Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen over the signing of SB1 into law.
SB1 bans ballot harvesting, the act of collecting individual ballots, by an organization or individual person, and delivering them to a polling place or election office. The new law also provides criminal penalties to this act ranging from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class C felony for receiving payment for assisting in the distribution, filling out, delivering and ordering of absentee ballots applications.
Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill into law March 20, after supporting all actions to ban ballot harvesting during the State of the State address in February.
Allen’s office said he is unable to comment at this time since the matter is a pending federal court litigation in the Northern District of Alabama. “I am dedicated to ensuring fair, secure and transparent elections,” Allen said in a previous statement. “SB1 provides Alabama voters with strong protection against activists who profit from the absentee elections process. I stand firm in my support of SB1 because now, under Alabama law, Alabama votes are not for sale.”
The lawsuit was filed by Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, Greater Birmingham Ministries, League of Women Voters of Alabama and Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program.
“SB1 takes Alabama backwards as it violates the law, restricts our basic Constitutional Amendment rights, obliterates freedom of speech. It marginalizes voters’ access to the ballot box,” said Benard Simelton, president of the Alabama NAACP.
“SB1 represents the latest assault on Alabama voters who simply want their voices heard and their choices counted regardless of differing abilities, health status and unpredictable work schedules that require their voter participation be by absentee ballot and often with the support of friends, family and civic organizations. There is no ‘voter integrity’ in penalizing those who assist those who must vote absentee, only voter suppression,” said Scott Douglas, executive director of Greater Birmingham Ministries.
“SB1 is part of a concerning trend of anti-voter state legislatures restricting equal access to the ballot for voters with disabilities. These laws specifically target the individuals and organizations that voters with disabilities depend on to access, complete, and cast an absentee ballot. The League of Women Voters is actively challenging these laws and is committed to fighting voter suppression nationwide,” said Celina Stewart, chief counsel at the League of Women Voters of the United States.
The organizations are arguing that the law harms those who need assistance with their absentee ballot applications, especially voters with disabilities and voters who are Black, elderly, incarcerated and of low-literacy.
“For many voters with disabilities, absentee voting may be the only practical option to be heard and have their voices counted. SB1 poses additional barriers to this critical right that are neither necessary nor legal,” said William Van Der Pol Jr., senior trial counsel for Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program.
The lawsuit filed challenges SB1 as violating the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, the Voting Rights Act, and the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
The organizations are being represented by Campaign Legal Center, Legal Defense Fund, Southern Poverty Law Center, the ACLU of Alabama and Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program in their suit against the new law.
“This law takes us backwards and attacks a fundamental aspect of our sacred freedom of speech — violating the Constitution and hurting Alabamians who rely on nonpartisan, good-government groups to help make their voices heard at the ballot box. We look forward to fighting alongside our partners against this extreme anti-voter law,” said Danielle Lang, senior director of voting rights at Campaign Legal Center.
“The criminalization of those who assist voters and help strengthen our political process is unpatriotic and undermines our nation’s promise of a multi-ethnic, multi-racial, inclusive democracy. LDF is proud to join our clients and partners to continue the fight to protect the fundamental right to vote – the people of Alabama and the United States deserve no less,” said Anuja Thatte, assistant counsel at the Legal Defense Fund.
“The march for voting rights started in Alabama and continues today as we face one of the most restrictive bills this state has seen in recent memory. Together, with our partners and clients, we will protect the fundamental right to vote and — no matter what barriers are put in place — to ensure every voice in Alabama is heard,” said Jess Unger, senior staff attorney for voting rights at Southern Poverty Law Center.
“Rather than helping Alabamians exercise their right to vote, lawmakers passed SB1 to criminalize them. This extreme and unnecessary law makes it a Class B felony for a person or organization to assist someone with their absentee ballot application,” said Alison Mollman, legal director of the ACLU of Alabama.
“In Alabama, other Class B felony offenses include manslaughter, statutory rape, and first-degree theft of property. SB1 is unconstitutional and the ACLU of Alabama is proud to stand alongside our clients to ensure that their constitutional rights are protected.”
Victor Hagan is the Alabama Election Reporting Fellow for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at vhagan@gannett.com or on X @TheVictorHagan. To support his work, subscribe to the Advertiser.
