Lawsuit filed over Alabama law that blocks more people with felony convictions from voting

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A voting rights group says a new Alabama law that expanded the list of felonies that cause a person to lose their right to vote is “out of step” with what is happening in most of the nation on voting rights for formerly incarcerated people.

The Campaign Legal Center filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Montgomery Circuit Court seeking to clarify that the new law cannot block people from voting in the November election. The lawsuit argued House Bill 100, which has a Oct. 1 effective date, cannot be used in the upcoming election, because the Alabama Constitution prohibits new election laws from taking effect within six months of the general election. Without clarity, they argued, it is setting up a confusing situation for voters and registrars over who can and cannot vote in November.

The new law adds that a conviction for attempting, soliciting or conspiracy to commit one of the more than 40 existing crimes of moral turpitude, would also be considered a disqualifying crime. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two men, convicted of crimes years ago, who could lose their right to vote under the expanded list.

Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen’s office declined to answer questions about the effective date, citing the ongoing litigation. The head of the Legislative Services Agency, which advises lawmakers and helps draft legislation, told The Associated Press that they had advised it “would not impact who could vote in November” because of the constitutional requirement but would impact future elections.

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Blair Bowie, director of the Campaign Legal Center Restore Your Vote Program, said in a statement about the lawsuit that Alabama is “seriously out of step with the national momentum on voting rights.”

“This new law takes Alabama even further backwards by stripping away the right to vote from Alabamians who have been legally voting for years and causing chaos and confusion for voters and election administrators alike,” Bowie said. “Every American should be able to exercise their freedom to vote, regardless of whether they have a past felony conviction.”

Allen’s office declined to comment on the litigation or the impact of the new law.

States have taken diverging paths on voting rights for formerly incarcerated people. The Campaign Legal Center said most states let people with felony convictions vote after they’ve been released from prison and return to their community.

The Alabama voting ban on people with felony convictions first dates to the Jim Crow-era 1901 Alabama Constitution, which was designed to keep Black people and poor white people from voting. The Constitution said people convicted of felonies of “moral turpitude” shall lose their right to vote but did not define those crimes. After years of debate and litigation, Alabama lawmakers in 2017 approved al list of more than 40 offenses, including murder, robbery, assault, felony theft and drug trafficking, that would bar someone from being able to vote.

Alabama lawmakers added an amendment to legislation this spring, aimed at providing enhanced penalties for crimes against election workers and poll workers, that expanded the list of disqualifying offenses. The chief purpose of HB100, by Democratic Rep. Adline C. Clarke, of Mobile, was to protect poll workers.

Before passing the bill, an amendment from a Republican lawmaker added six offenses to the list of crimes, including domestic violence, elder abuse, stalking and compelling street gang membership. It also stated that a conviction of an attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit one of the existing crimes of moral turpitude would also qualify as a crime of moral turpitude. The Campaign Center said that effectively added more than 100 new crimes to the list of felonies that cause a person to lose their voting rights.

Allen praised the provision in a May statement to al.com.

“HB100 will be a strong deterrent to those who think about committing crimes in Alabama,” Allen told the news outlet. “I’m not disqualifying anyone from voting as it relates to HB100. It’s the criminals who disqualify themselves when they break the law and wreak havoc on our communities.”

Alabama allows many people convicted of disqualifying felonies to apply to have their voting restored if they have completed their sentences, parole and probation and paid all court fines and court-ordered restitution. Some convictions, such as murder, do not allow a person to get their voting rights back.