Absentee ballots are prepared to be mailed at the Wake County Board of Elections on Sept. 17, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Alabama Attorney General’s Office plans to appeal a federal court ruling blocking a portion of a new state law criminalizing some forms of ballot assistance. (Allison Joyce/Getty Images)
The Alabama Attorney General’s Office Wednesday signaled that it would appeal a federal court ruling blocking a portion of a new state law criminalizing some forms of absentee ballot assistance.
U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor Tuesday ruled that a portion of the law violated the federal Voting Rights Act, which allows blind, disabled and illiterate voters to choose a person to assist them with filling out a form.
The appeal had not been filed as of Wednesday morning.
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SB 1, sponsored by Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, made it a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for a person to knowingly receive payment for “distributing, ordering, requesting, collecting, completing, prefilling, obtaining or delivering” an application. A person convicted of knowingly paying or providing a gift to a “third party to distribute, order, request, collect, prefill, complete, obtain or deliver” would be subject to a Class B felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Messages were left Wednesday morning with the Attorney General’s office and a spokesperson for the plaintiffs’ attorneys.
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