MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Association of the Boards of Registrars opposes legislation giving registrars pay raises due to concerns about the bill possibly mandating racial quotas on county boards of registrars.
Senate Bill 81, sponsored by State Sen. Bobby Singleton (D-Greensboro), increases registrar pay from $80 per day to $100 per day for each day's attendance upon business of the board. Alabama Registrars are appointed in each county for a four-year term by the Governor, State Auditor, or the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries. Boards of Registrars manage the registration of voters and maintenance of all voter registration records.
The bill also says, "The Governor, Auditor, and Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, or a majority of them acting as a state board of appointment, shall work to assure that membership of each board of registrars is reflective of the racial demographics of the state."
Leigh Reed, vice president of the Alabama Association of the Boards of Registrars (AABOR), said at a public hearing in the Senate County and Municipal Government Committee on Tuesday that the language was one reason the registrar professional association opposed the bill.
"The word 'shall' is not permissive but would be a requirement under the law, the breach of which would be enforced by the courts. That language is in this bill for a reason. The intention is that it would be eventually enforced," Reed said.
Reed said, "We learned about this bill through the monitoring of alison, the Alabama Legislature's website."
"There have been no communications with the association by the sponsors of this bill, a bill that would have such significant negative impact on registrars and the voters of Alabama. As a body, the AABOR does not support SB 81 and requests that you also not support SB 81 in any form as it would apply a racial quota to the appointment of registrars that is an unlawful infringement upon the appointment powers of the executive branch and could result with the stroke of the pen in the loss of approximately 30% of veteran, skilled registrars across the state for no other reason than they are of the wrong race. Such a loss would imperil the integrity of the Alabama election system," Reed said.
Reed also said "Incorrect classification" of registrar employment in the bill would cause some registrars to lose health insurance benefits in some counties. The bill would provide that registrars are not considered county or state employees except for certain limited purposes.
State Sen. Kirk Hatcher (D-Montgomery) mentioned the example of Montgomery County having an all-white Board of Registrars despite having a large non-white population.
"Do you see it as an issue potentially that in using the example of Montgomery County that we have a Board of Registrars in a county that's 62.3% black and brown and all of the registrars are white?," Hatcher asked Reed. "I think what we're trying to do is achieve some degree of parity when it comes to this."
Reed said the AABOR plans to introduce its own pay raise bill later in the session after consultation with the Secretary of State and other lawmakers.
The Association of County Commissions of Alabama supports Senate Bill 81. The bill passed out of committee on Tuesday.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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