Alabama House passes bill limiting absentee voting

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that the House has passed SB1, but the Senate will have to concur on amendments before it is sent to the Governor's desk.

The Alabama House gave approval to a bill Thursday that allows people to be charged with, in some cases, felonies for helping others with absentee voting.

Representatives voted 75 to 28 to pass the bill. The Alabama Senate previously passed the bill Feb. 13 with a vote of 27 to 8.

"Ballot harvesting is a practice in which groups or individuals seek to profit off of the absentee voting process by knowingly ordering, requesting, collecting, pre-filing, obtaining or delivering an absentee ballot application or absentee ballot other than his or her own absentee ballot application or absentee ballot," Sen. Garlan Gudger said in a statement. "SB1 will help strengthen Alabama's absentee voting process while protecting voters who are disabled and protecting our overseas military voters. SB1 will make it illegal to pay or receive payment to assist voters in completing an absentee ballot application or absentee ballot."

Gudger is one of the bill's sponsors.

“SB 1 is a prime example of MAGA voter suppression at work. Preventing older voters, voters with disabilities, and other voters who might need additional support from getting assistance with the threat of a potential criminal charge is cruel and anti-democratic," Stand Up America Communications Manager Tracy Adair said in a statement.

"This discriminatory legislation has no business in the land of the free. It’s time for Governor Kay Ivey to step up and reject this assault on Alabamians’ freedom to vote by vetoing this dangerous anti-voter legislation.”

The American Civil Liberties Union also issued a statement opposing the bill. Samuel Duff, who wrote the statement for the ACLU, called the bill a voter-suppression tactic.

"This is an egregious piece of legislation and if it becomes law, would damage the fabric of the democratic process by limiting a fundamental right that is guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution," Duff wrote Feb. 7, prior to the bill's passage.

Although the bill must be concurred by the Senate before it can receive Gov. Kay Ivey's signature and become law, Ivey has already voiced support for the bill.

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Alex Gladden is the Montgomery Advertiser's public safety reporter. She can be reached at agladden@gannett.com or on Twitter @gladlyalex.

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 Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Alabama House passes bill limiting absentee voting