Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said his office will work to implement a new state law that criminalizes payments for the distribution and collection of absentee ballot applications for the general election in November. But he emphasized new law generally does not affect volunteers giving voter assistance.

Allen said his office update the absentee ballot application forms, talk to local officials who run elections, and get the word out to the public.

Alabama lawmakers passed SB1 by Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, a bill that Republicans said would stop ballot harvesting, the distribution and collection of absentee ballot applications by third parties to influence elections.

The Republican majority passed the bill over the objections of Democrats and others who said it was unnecessary and would keep elderly and disabled voters from getting the help they need with absentee voting. They pointed to the lack of examples of ballot harvesting cases in Alabama as evidence that the law was not needed.

Allen noted that the new law does not stop people who are disabled, blind, or cannot read and write from receiving help with voting, assistance that is protected by the federal Voting Rights Act. Allen said the new law generally does not affect volunteers giving voter assistance. And he said the scarcity of examples of ballot fraud prosecutions cited by opponents of SB1 is because the law was weak.

“Ballot harvesting is a big term, obviously,” Allen said. “And our opponents always point to us, ‘Show us the prosecutions.’ Well, there was few prosecutions because it was so vague and there was no penalties. So, DAs and the AG, they’re just not going to focus on that particular code section on ballot harvesting.

“But we know it goes on. We receive calls. We know it happens out there. There are instances where there are paid political operatives, paid ballot traffickers, or whatever you want to call them, that go and put influence on the absentee process, going out and gathering up these applications and trying to influence the absentee process.”

Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, reasserted what Democrats have long said about the bill, that ballot harvesting is not a problem in Alabama and that the bill is part of a national GOP effort to bolster former President Trump’s unsubstantiated claims that mass fraud caused his defeat in the 2020 election.

“I think this was just a national, red meat, Republican bill that’s pushed down from the national groups, and they just have to adopt something in Alabama based on Trump losing,” Singleton said. “And so, here we are, Alabama can say that they did something, they contributed. But it’s nothing at the end of the day. We don’t have voter fraud in this state.”

Gudger said his bill was not related to Trump’s voter fraud claims. Gudger said he traveled the state and worked to develop a bill that targeted ballot harvesting, as opposed to volunteer help for voters.

Allen, who was elected secretary of state in 2022, introduced a similar bill when he was a Republican member of the Alabama House. It did not pass. Similar legislation also failed last year.

This year, the Republican majority was able to pass Gudger’s bill, and Gov. Kay Ivey promptly signed it into law. Although the bill said it takes effect immediately, Allen said it will not be in effect for the primary runoff election on April 16 or for two upcoming special elections for legislative seats.

Allen noted that voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2022 requiring election law changes to be implemented no less than six months before the general election.

The new law adds new restrictions and criminal penalties to section 17-11-4 of the Code of Alabama, which governs absentee voting applications. The strictest penalties apply to those who receive a payment or pay someone else for helping with applications. Some parts of the new law apply to situations not involving a payment.

The new law:

• Makes it a Class C felony, punishable by one to 10 years in prison, to receive a payment or gift to distribute, order, request, collect, complete, pre-fill, or deliver an absentee ballot application for another voter.
• Makes it a Class B felony, punishable to two to 20 years, to knowingly pay or provide a gift to a third party to distribute, order, request, collect, prefill, complete, obtain, or deliver a voter’s absentee ballot application.
• Says an applicant for an absentee ballot can receive assistance filling out the ballot and that the application must be signed by the applicant and the witness.
• Makes it a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail, to deliver an absentee ballot application to a vote that is pre-filled with the voter’s name or any other information required on the application.
• Specifies that only the voter can return their absentee ballot application to their county’s absentee election manager, either in person or by mail or commercial carrier.
• Requires applicants for absentee ballots to declare they are not barred from voting because of a disqualifying felony conviction or, if they were were convicted of a disqualifying felony, that they have had their right to vote restored.

The League of Women Voters of Alabama, which has opposed the legislation since last year, released a statement about the bill.

“SB1 and bills like it are just another form of voter suppression that do nothing to protect the ‘integrity’ of our elections but do a great deal to make it harder for voters with disabilities to cast their ballot,” the League said. “Voter assistance is not a crime and should not be treated as such. The League of Women Voters of Alabama believes the state should be making it easier for people to vote, especially people with disabilities, and we will continue to fight unjust laws like SB1.”

Allen said people who can continue to help voters with the absentee process as long as the work is not for pay.

“If they want to go out and do it on their own, that’s fine,” Allen said. “Charitable organizations. They can go help anybody that needs assistance. They just can’t get compensated for it. They can’t receive any kind of gift for it.”

Allen said the distribution and collection of absentee ballot applications when compensation is involved takes on a different meaning than the volunteer efforts.

“We wanted to make sure that we, again, clarified that law and make sure that it’s really the intent of the voter, and they want to utilize the absentee process, not necessarily because somebody is coming and knocking on their door harvesting these applications and these ballots,” Allen said.

Singleton said he thinks part of the intent of the new law is voter suppression, but he said campaigns and organizations will work around it.

“I think we’re just going to have to adopt to the law,” Singleton said. “I think it’s voter suppression at best. We should be opening up the free and fair exercising of the right to vote. But at the end of the day that bill dealt with the application part of the absentee ballot, not the ballot itself. So therefore I think it’s only punitive if someone is paying someone to go out and do it.

“You still do everything you used to do if you are deemed a volunteer. So, I think we’ll find ways to work around it. It’s always another bump in the road but we’ll get through.”

Allen, who oversaw elections as a probate judge in Pike County before he was elected to the Legislature, said the bill adds strength to the law that he said has been needed for years.

“I think this is a strong piece of legislation that makes sure that we protect the absentee process,” Allen said. “Voters can still gain assistance if they need it from anybody that they choose. We just want to make sure they can’t get paid for it. And a third-party organization out there cannot compensate individuals to go out there and try to manipulate the absentee process.”

The ban on compensation for absentee ballot assistance includes compensation for expenses, such as the cost of gas.

Allen said his office will work to implement the law for the general election on Nov. 5.

“We’re going to update the language on our application to update what the language says in the law,” Allen said. “We’re going to talk to our local elected officials that run elections, the probate judges, circuit clerks, sheriffs, boards of registrars, to make sure they understand what has changed and if they get questions, they can answer.

“Listen, we want people to vote. We want to make sure they have complete confidence in what we’re doing, in the elections process, and give them the information that they need.”