MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Bills targeting ballot harvesting and diversity, equity and inclusion programs were approved Thursday in the Alabama House.
Sponsored by Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, the ballot harvesting bill – Senate Bill 1 – would make it a Class B felony for an individual to pay a third party to request, collect, pre-fill complete or deliver an absentee ballot, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The bill would also make it a Class C felony to receive payment for assisting another person with an absentee ballot, and a Class A misdemeanor to distribute, pre-fill or collect absentee ballot applications.
The bill makes exceptions for those who cannot write or read, those with disabilities, and immediate family members, and has been described by its sponsor as an effort to target voter fraud and ballot harvesting.
Rep. Jamie Kiel, R-Russellville, had sponsored a similar bill in 2023, though it ultimately never made its way to Ivey’s desk. On Thursday, Kiel argued on behalf of Gudger’s version of the bill, and said that the intent of the legislation was “to keep people from profiting from the election process.”
House Democrats pushed back on the bill.
“Here we are again this year with another bill that deals with absentee voting,” said Rep. Patrick Sellers, D-Pleasant Grove.
“It’s amazing to me that of the millions of ballots cast in Alabama since 2000, there has only been 16 documented instances of absentee ballot fraud, zero instances of absentee ballot application fraud, and each instance was by a candidate or campaign staff.”
Given the relatively low number of documented cases of voter fraud in the state, which since 2000 was reported to be 20 according to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, Sellers argued that the bill “creates a problem out of thin air.”
He also cautioned that the bill could further drive down voter turnout, which during this week’s primary election, was at a record-low 21.05%, down from the 33% seen in 2020, as well as the 41% seen in 2016.
“Every time there is an imagination of there (being) voting fraud, it puts fear in people about voting and the voting process,” he continued.
Another Democratic speaker, Rep. Rolanda Hollis, D-Brimingham, took aim at the severe criminal penalty that could see an Alabamian serve up to 20 years in prison for paying someone to assist them with an absentee ballot.
“One of the things that I really can’t stomach is the Class B felony,” Hollis said. “You mean to tell me, if I give $5 in gas money (to someone for assistance with an absentee ballot), I’m going to jail?”
Kiel explained that for an individual to be convicted under the bill, a prosecutor would have to prove they demonstrated criminal intent or knowledge of wrongdoing, known in legal terms as mens rea.
Rep. Chris England, R-Tuscaloosa, an attorney for the city of Tuscaloosa, argued that the requirement to prove criminal intent was largely meaningless in preventing casual payments of small amounts as compensation for assistance with an absentee ballot, and urged Kiel to consider lowering the severity of the Class B felony charge.
“As long as I say ‘I’m paying you for this purpose,’ I’ve satisfied that mens rea,” England said. “So would you be comfortable reducing that to something a little bit more reasonable?”
“If people are intentionally profiting off the election process, they’re breaking the law,” Kiel said.
“No, you’re making it so they break the law,” England fired back.
The House later passed the bill 75-28 along party lines. It now goes to the governor.
The body then debated Senate Bill 129, the bill targeting DEI offices and programs, as well as so-called divisive concepts by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road. The bill was carried in the House by Rep. Ed Oliver, R-Dadeville.
“This bill would prohibit certain public entities, including state agencies, local boards of education (and) public institutions of higher education from maintaining a diversity, equity and inclusion office or department, or sponsoring DEI programs or programs that advocate for divisive concepts,” Oliver said.
“Diversity, equity and inclusion programs are radical; their effect on college campuses as well as K-12 is to deepen divisions, set up race-exclusionary programs, and indoctrinate students into a far-left political ideology.”
Unlike the ballot harvesting bill, SB129 would not impose any criminal penalties for non-compliance, but rather, would strictly prohibit public entities from engaging in DEI practices or promoting divisive concepts. In the bill, eight different concepts are described as being divisive, all of which largely center around generalizations about groups based on ethnicity.
Like the ballot harvesting bill, Democrats spoke in opposition for around two hours, and also like the previous bill, had their speaking time cut short with a couture motion.
“Today, the state of Alabama committed a sin; the act targets speech based upon the content, (and) the state of Alabama today has really taken us back,” said House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, after the bill’s passage.
Speaking in the crowded press room with 14 other House Democrats as lawmakers addressed other, less consequential bills on the floor, Daniels pointed to how a federal court blocked a similar bill in Florida earlier this week, known as the ‘Stop WOKE Act,’ and said he expected similar action on SB129 in Alabama.
“I am hopeful that organizations start to file lawsuits,” he said. “Even if we have to file a lawsuit about this particular issue, we will.”
The bill now goes back to the Senate for final passage.