Restrictions on absentee ballot help in Alabama are being challenged in a lawsuit

By KIM CHANDLER
Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A new Alabama law that criminalizes types of assistance with absentee ballot applications is being challenged by a lawsuit. The new law makes it illegal to return another person’s ballot application or distribute an absentee ballot application that is prefilled with information such as the voter’s name. It would become a felony to pay someone to distribute or collect applications. The Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, the League of Women Voters and other groups are plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed Thursday. The suit argues that the law “turns civic and neighborly voter engagement into a serious crime.”