Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit from left-wing groups on Monday over an anti-ballot harvesting state law passed during the 2024 session.
The ACLU, NAACP and other groups filed a lawsuit in federal court in April against Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, Alabama's 42 District Attorneys and Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen to block the recently enacted Senate Bill 1, which increased penalties for ballot harvesting in Alabama.
The ACLU of Alabama claimed the law "directly targets, drastically restricts and severely penalizes basic nonpartisan civic engagement efforts that enable all Alabamians to access their freedom to vote."
Marshall asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit on Monday.
“More recently, in light of the long history of abuses of absentee voting, the State enacted SB1, which safeguards the absentee ballot applications process. It is easy for a voter who is eligible to vote absentee to request an application, and the recent reforms ensure that the process is driven by voters, not unduly influenced by interested parties. Applications must be submitted by the applicant (unless a disabled voter requires assistance). Pre filling an application is prohibited, which among other things, cuts down on potential fraud (e.g., through mass applications) and confusion (e.g., when voters receive misaddressed or unsolicited forms). And SB1 prohibits absentee ballot application buying. No one may knowingly provide or “receive a payment or gift for distributing, ordering, requesting, collecting, completing, prefilling, obtaining, or delivering a voter’s absentee ballot application.” No federal law or constitutional provision forbids these commonsense safeguards for the franchise,” Marshall said in a filing on Monday.
Ballot Harvesting Motion to Dismiss by Caleb Taylor on Scribd
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