Notice: Clarification on the Preliminary Injunction regarding ballot harvesting

For Immediate Release:
October 9, 2024

On September 24, 2024, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama entered a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of portions of Act 2024-33. That Act prohibits forms of absentee ballot application "harvesting" and provides that "it shall be unlawful for a third party to knowingly receive a payment or gift for distributing, ordering, requesting, collecting, completing, prefilling, obtaining, or delivering a voter's absentee ballot application." It provides further that "it shall be unlawful for a person to knowingly pay or provide a gift to a third party to distribute, order, request. complete, obtain, or deliver a voter's absentee ballot application." Also, the Act makes it "unlawful for an individual to submit a completed absentee ballot application to the absentee election manager other than his own application," with limited exceptions.

The court's order enjoins enforcement of the "payment or gift" and the submission provisions, but only when the voter is blind, disabled, or illiterate within the meaning of section 208 of the Voting Rights Act and "requests assistance from a person of that voter's choice." All other provisions in Act 2024-33 remain enforceable, and the "payment or gift" and submission provisions remain enforceable if the voter is not blind, disabled, or illiterate. And even if the voter is blind, disabled, or illiterate, the "payment or gift" and submission provisions remain enforceable if the voter has not requested assistance from the person who engaged in the prohibited conduct.

In the Court's words, law enforcement officials are enjoined "from implementing or enforcing SB 1's Submission Restriction and Payment and Gift Provisions, Ala. Code § 17-11-4(c)(2), § 17-11-4(d)(1) to (d)(2), but only as to blind, disabled, or illiterate voters, within the meaning of Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act, who request assistance from a person of that voter's choice."

In sum, when blind, disabled, or illiterate voters require assistance to apply for an absentee ballot, they are free under the injunction order to request and obtain assistance from someone, even if that person is paid to provide assistance, and that person of the voter's choice is free to provide that requested assistance.

General Marshall has provided notice of the preliminary injunction to all District Attorneys in the State. He notes that the State has appealed the preliminary injunction and requested a stay.