Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday gave final approval to a bill that would outlaw paid assistance with absentee ballot applications and another that would restrict diversity, equity and inclusion programs at universities and state agencies.
Republicans had named the bills as priorities for the legislative session. The Senate, in votes divided along party lines, agreed to changes made by the House of Representatives. The two bills now go to Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature.The absentee voting bill would make it a misdemeanor to distribute a pre-filled absentee ballot application to a voter or return another voter's completed application.
“Any person can still get anyone’s help with applications, but no part of that application can be pre-filled. That’s all,” Republican Sen. Garlan Gudger, the bill’s sponsor, said. “There’s a lot of pressure when some people say, ‘I want you to vote this way,’ and give them an application. You can’t do that. You have to have it blank,” Gudger said.
“It's just another voter suppression. It's just a means of suppressing certain people from having the ability and right to access to the free flowing of the vote," Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton said. Republican lawmakers across the country have pushed initiatives that would restrict diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, also known as DEI. The Alabama legislation would prohibit universities, K-12 school systems and state agencies from sponsoring DEI programs, defined under the bill as classes, training, programs and events where attendance is based on a person’s race, sex, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin or sexual orientation.
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