Alabama seeks to avoid lawsuit over federal ‘Motor Voter Act’

The state of Alabama has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to avoid a lawsuit over noncompliance with the two-decade-old Motor Voter Act.

Gov. Robert Bentley signed the agreement Friday morning.

The 1993 law, designed to make it easier to register to vote, requires driver license applications to be treated as a voter registration form.

Bentley said the state agreed to make adjustments to the driver’s license process to make sure people are registered as required.

The Department of Justice earlier this year threatened to sue Alabama for noncompliance.

The governor described the noncompliance by Alabama and other states as an oversight, but he said the state intends to obey the law.

Republished with permission of The Associated Press