Secretary of State Wes Allen said Alabama elections are safe and secure ahead of Tuesday’s primary election.
Allen said a lot of work has been done stemming from the new congressional map. A panel of federal court judges selected Alabama’s congressional map last Fall after ruling state lawmakers did not remedy a likely Voting Rights Act violation for Black voter dilution with the 2021 map.
Thousands of people fall into a different congressional district this election than in previous years.
“It has been a lot of ongoing conversation between the probate judges, all the circuit clerks, all the sheriffs, the boards of registrars. We are getting ready. It is all about preparation and we are getting ready to execute tomorrow on election day,” said Allen.
Anyone unsure of their district can find the information on the Secretary of State’s website, alabamavotes.gov, by entering their name and birth date.
Overall, Allen said the voting process is secure in the state.
“I want people to know our elections are fair, safe, transparent, and secure. We have paper ballots. We will always have paper ballots to vote on. The tabulators that we use, that voters will use tomorrow, are not connected to the internet. They cannot be connected to the internet. The only plug that we have on that tabulator is the one that it uses for electricity,” he said.
People should come to their voting location with their photo ID. Anyone who isn’t sure where their polling location is can also find that information on alabamavotes.gov.
ABC 33/40 asked Allen about bills going through the legislative process, specifically Senate Bill 1. SB 1 is related to absentee ballot applications.
The bill would make it a Class C Felony for a third party to receive payment or a gift for distributing, ordering, requesting, collecting, completing, prefilling, obtaining, or delivering a voter’s absentee ballot application.
It would be a Class B Felony for anyone paying or providing a gift.
SB 1 maintained current state law that anyone could ask for assistance with an application from a person of their choosing but specified the applicant and anyone assisting with an application has to sign it. Information cannot be pre-filled out on the application before the voter receives it.
Only the applicant can return the application by going to an election office in person, mailing it, or sending it through a commercial carrier.
Allen has advocated for the legislation. He believed it protects the absentee process from third parties who collect and return completed ballots, also known as ‘ballot harvesting.’
“We need to protect absentee voting because a lot of people count on it,” said Allen. “We want to make sure that none of these ballot traffickers or harvesters can interfere or manipulate the absentee process. It begins with the absentee application.”
Those in favor of the legislation have pointed to the 2022 primary absentee ballot percentages in certain counties as proof ballot harvesting is happening in Alabama.
We asked Allen how the numbers correlate with ballot harvesting.
“We’ve got folks that are opponents of the bill that have admitted in committee hearings just last week or the week before last that says there are professional ballot harvesters out there. There are folks who admitted that money does change hands. We know it goes on. The law we are trying to amend and strengthen is very vague. People always ask, to prove it. Where are the prosecutions? Where are the problems? The law is pretty weak and it is pretty vague so there hasn’t been prosecution. That’s what we want to make sure. We put in felony provisions and penalties so we can hopefully give some tools to these DAs and the AG’s office to make sure our elections are further secure,” said Allen.
Some strongly oppose this legislation and have spoken against it during public hearings. They believe it will make people fearful of absentee voting and restrict the process, rather than securing it.
Allen said SB 1 would not restrict voting.
“Our voter registration, participation is at 96% of the voting-age population. We have one of the highest percentages of voter registration in the country,” said Allen. “We want everyone to go out and exercise their right to vote, their constitutional right to vote. We invite people to get registered. We make it easy for folks to get registered to vote. You can do it on paper. You can do it on your desktop. You can do it on your smartphone. There are plenty of ways to do that and our number bears that out.”
The legislation does not impact voters who have disabilities, such as blindness or an inability to read. They may be assisted by anyone of their choosing except their employer or a voter’s union. Voters voting by absentee ballot through the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act are not subject to changes in the bill. The Secretary of State shall provide applications for absentee voting to military and overseas voters.
