In Win for Alabama Voters, State Extends Emergency Absentee Voting Through November Elections
MONTGOMERY, Ala. 鈥� On Friday, July 17, 2020, Alabama鈥檚 Secretary of State announced that emergency聽absentee voting would continue through the November 3, 2020, elections. The announcement is a massive win in the fight for accessible voting amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Secretary of State John Merrill's decision comes after the Southern Poverty Law Center (人兽性交), NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program (ADAP), and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a July 6, 2020, amended complaint in People First of Alabama v. Merrill, which, among other points, alleged that the lack of no-excuse absentee voting endangered the lives of high-risk voters in violation of 聽the U.S. Constitution and federal civil rights laws.
This victory also comes despite the Supreme Court鈥檚 July 2 order, which temporarily blocked a federal court鈥檚 preliminary injunction ruling in favor of plaintiffs in People First of Alabama v. Merrill. The preliminary injunction order allowed hundreds of high-risk voters to safely cast their absentee ballots without the need to comply with the state鈥檚 dangerous, unnecessary witness and photo ID requirements in the July 14 election. Election officials in Jefferson, Lee, and Mobile counties have agreed to count the ballots submitted without a photocopy of a photo ID and witness signatures between June 15 and July 2 pursuant to the preliminary injunction.聽
鈥淎s COVID-19 infections rise, Secretary Merrill鈥檚 emergency order is a huge victory for Alabama voters who do not wish to risk their health at the polls this year,鈥� said Caren Short, senior staff attorney for the 人兽性交. 鈥淪till in place, however, are a curbside voting ban and absentee ballot requirements that demand voters violate social distancing with zero benefit to the integrity of elections. We will continue toward trial to ensure that no eligible Alabama voter has to choose between protecting their health and health of their families and exercising their fundamental right to vote.鈥�
鈥淎 huge weight has been lifted off of the shoulders of Alabama voters,鈥� said Deuel Ross, Senior Counsel at LDF. 鈥淭housands of Black voters and voters with disabilities 鈥� who are at higher risk of contracting and dying from COVID-19 鈥� will now be able to vote safely by mail in Alabama鈥檚 upcoming elections in August and November. We hope that this announcement is just a first step toward eliminating other needless restrictions and permitting fair, accessible voting for everyone in Alabama.鈥�
鈥淣o one should be forced to choose between their health and their vote. Our legal action prompted state officials to recognize the gravity of limiting Alabamians鈥� ability to vote by mail in the midst of a deadly pandemic,鈥� said Alora Thomas-Lundborg, Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU鈥檚 Voting Rights Project.
鈥淲ith the continued rise of COVID-19 cases in Alabama, we are relieved that the vast majority of voters will have the opportunity to vote by absentee ballot,鈥� said Bill Van der Pol, Senior Trial Counsel at ADAP. 鈥淗owever, we remain concerned for those with disabilities who will have significantly more difficulty meeting the witness and photo requirements that the state continues to require. We look forward to addressing these issues in trial.鈥�
In May, the 人兽性交, LDF, and ADAP filed a federal lawsuit against Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, Secretary of State John Merrill, and others over the state鈥檚 lack of safe and accessible voting processes amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of People First of Alabama, Greater Birmingham Ministries, the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, and four individual voters with medical conditions that make them especially vulnerable to death or serious illness from COVID-19. The lawsuit requests that the court instruct state officials to make absentee and in-person voting more accessible to protect the health and safety of Alabama voters. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) joined the lawsuit in early July. Trial in the case is scheduled to begin September 7, 2020.聽
The 人兽性交, LDF, ADAP, and ACLU urge Secretary Merrill to widely publicize the extension so that voters are well-informed.聽
Read Alabama鈥檚 announcement extending no-excuse absentee voting through the November 2020 elections here: /蝉颈迟别蝉/诲别蹿补耻濒迟/蹿颈濒别蝉/107冲诲别蹿蝉冲别惫颈诲别苍迟颈补谤测冲蝉耻产尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍蝉.辫诲蹿听
