Alabama House passes ban on curbside voting

The Alabama House on Thursday moved along a bill that would ban curbside voting statewide, something that was already not allowed but was at the center of court battles last year that ended in the country’s highest court.

Alabama law doesn’t currently address curbside voting, but several counties during the COVID-19 pandemic chose to allow ballots to be turned in by voters curbside. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill intervened, putting a stop to curbside voting, saying that because state law didn’t specifically allow for curbside voting it was thus illegal.

The lawsuit, filed by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Southern Poverty Law Center, American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Alabama and Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program, was brought on behalf of several Alabamians with underlying medical conditions, and argued that curbside voting was needed to give them the ability to vote.

U.S. District Judge Abdul Kallon on Sept. 30 ordered Alabama to allow for curbside voting for the Nov 3 election. The state appealed, and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals let the Kallon’s ruling on curbside voting stand.

Read more: https://www.alreporter.com/2021/03/19/alabama-house-passes-ban-on-curbside-voting/