Contributed by the Office of the Attorney General
Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Tuesday that the state will appeal a U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upholding a lower court order allowing curbside voting in the Nov. 3 general election in Alabama.
“While we welcome the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals decision to grant the state’s emergency stay request so that Alabama’s absentee voting law requirements of a valid photo ID and witnesses remain in effect for the Nov. 3 general election, the appeals court’s decision to allow curbside voting conflicts with state efforts to ensure election security,” said Attorney General Marshall. “We will therefore seek a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court as soon as possible.
“Alabama has a history of voter fraud that the photo ID and witness requirements help address,” he said. “Those safeguards are both important and easily complied with, even during the pandemic. Alabama has the right and the duty to ensure that our elections are conducted with integrity, and Alabama voters deserve to know they can cast their ballots with confidence that election security safeguards will remain in place.”
Alabama law requires most categories of voters who apply for an absentee ballot to submit a copy of their photo ID and have two witnesses or a notary sign the envelope in which a voter submits the absentee ballot.
The federal district court’s Sept. 30 ruling prohibited local election officials from enforcing these anti-fraud provisions, including prohibiting curbside voting despite the Secretary of State’s judgment that curbside voting violates Alabama law and cannot be practically implemented for the first time ever in a matter of weeks.
The federal district court similarly enjoined the state’s absentee voting law during the July 14 runoff elections in June. However, the U.S. Supreme Court disagreed, staying that injunction and allowing the state to enforce its election laws.