Long absentee lines draw vote suppression criticism
The final day of in-person absentee voting in Alabama brought long lines, accusations of voter suppression, and unsettled questions over the fate of some votes after a court fight temporarily altered ballot requirements. A record 259,000 Alabamians have voted by absentee ballot so far this election amid pandemic rules and a push for early voting, and the number is expected to grow as the final votes come in. That is nearly three times the state’s previous record for absentee voting. Voters in Tuscaloosa County have waited in excessively long lines, the Alabama Democratic Party said Thursday with one voter waiting five hours without getting in the courthouse and another had to leave before casting a ballot after waiting four hours in line. “No voter should have to wait in line for hours to exercise their rights. We should leverage every tool we have to make voting easier, not harder,” Wade Perry, executive director of the Alabama Democratic Party. A lawyer for Sen. Doug Jones campaign sent a letter Wednesday to Tuscaloosa Circuit Clerk Magaria Bobo saying the long lines equated to “suppressing the vote of qualified Alabama voters.” “This is evidence that your office is not competently managing its absentee election rules,” attorney Adam Plant wrote. “No voter should face such an undue burden on their fundamental right to vote during a pandemic.” Bobo could not immediately be reached for comment. But she told the Montgomery Advertiser that her office was working diligently to process the flood of absentee ballots. The letter also cited Facebook comments from Bobo family’s members, who were helping with absentee ballot processing, that called voters unappreciative, stupid and classless for complaining about the long wait times. She said that her family members had volunteered and that the posts had been taken down. Another outstanding question is the fate of absentee ballots that might have been caught up in a court battle over witness requirements. A federal judge in September said voters with health concerns could be exempt from absentee ballot witness and notary requirements because of the health risks of interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. The state appealed and the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the ruling on Oct. 13. Before the order was blocked, election officials in Jefferson County had mailed out a waiver form for the notary and witness requirement with requested absentee ballots. Jefferson County officials said Monday that ballots returned with a waiver that were postmarked on or before Oct. 13 will be counted. The issue is with any ballots returned Oct. 14 or later. County officials said they are trying to contact voters who might have returned their absentee ballots with the waiver that is no longer valid. The county said it stopped mailing out waivers on Oct. 13 Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said voters who have concerns about whether their vote was properly filed should contact their local absentee voting office. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Absentee voting hits record level in Alabama
Alabamians are voting by absentee ballot in record numbers this year after pandemic rules made it easier to do so, even lining up on Saturdays to cast votes. And as early voting opportunities prove popular, some are asking the question why the state does not allow this every year. As of this week, more than 145,000 absentee votes have already been cast either by mail or in-person voting, according to Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill. He said that number is expected to rise. The state’s previous record for absentee ballot voting was about 89,000. Merrill said there were about another 70,000 absentee ballots that have been requested but have not yet been mailed back. “This is direct evidence that people want to vote early,” said Tuscaloosa Rep. Chris England, who is the chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party. England said he believes the issue cuts across party lines, and that people of all political leanings appreciate the opportunity to vote outside of 12 hours on Election Day. Alabama does not technically have early voting, but people can cast absentee ballots by mail or in-person at local elections offices. Normally, to vote absentee, people must swear that they are out-of-town or ill or working during polling hours. Merrill has said this year people can vote by absentee ballot if they are concerned about the risk of COVID-19 at the polls. Election officials in more than a dozen of Alabama’s 67 counties have offered Saturday in-person absentee voting to handle the flood of people. On a rainy Saturday in Montgomery, people waited in line for more than three hours for an opportunity to vote early in the November election. News outlets showed similar lines in Birmingham and Mobile. Aviance Turboll, 40, stood with an umbrella in hand to cast her vote for Joe Biden. Turnboll is an advanced placement science teacher at a Montgomery magnet school and mother of three teenagers. Her work and home schedule sometimes makes it difficult to get to the polls on Election Day, so Saturday voting is much more convenient, she said. “I say make this the norm. Make it where that we are not making it so difficult with all these obstacles in the way for voting,” she said. Wearing a black t-shirt with the word VOTE on it, Jacqueline Smiley, 36, was turned away from voting Saturday because local election officials closed the line at noon. Although people already in the long line, which snaked around the block, were allowed to vote. Smiley said she planned to come back Monday, but she would also like to see the state allow early voting every year. “It would be beneficial to anyone who has to work or just can’t get away,” she said. Democrats have made a push to get people to the polls early. “Every day is Election Day,” the state Democratic Party wrote on social media in posts encouraging people to make a plan for voting. England said he expects legislation to be introduced in the next session to allow early voting every year or at least allow people to vote absentee without an excuse. Such a change would have to be approved by the GOP-dominated Alabama Legislature. A bill to allow people to vote absentee vote without an excuse or explanation passed the state Senate in 2017 but did not get a vote in the House of Representatives. Merrill said he expects the issue to be considered in the 2021 legislation session. Asked if Republican Gov. Kay Ivey would support a change to allow early voting or no-excuse absentee voting, spokeswoman Gina Maiola replied that the governor, “is confident in the current process in place and believes that every person has ample opportunity to cast their vote in Alabama, even as we are amidst a pandemic.” Merrill said the decision to offer Saturday voting is up to local election officials. “I don’t know why it hasn’t happened before,” Merrill said. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Supreme Court puts curbside voting on hold in Alabama
The Supreme Court on Wednesday put on hold a lower court order that would have permitted curbside voting in Alabama in November. The justices’ vote was 5-3, with the court’s three liberals dissenting. As is typical when the Supreme Court acts on an emergency basis, the justices in the majority did not explain their decision. It was not clear how many counties might have offered curbside voting, allowing people to vote from their car by handing their ballot to a poll worker. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a dissent joined by Justice Stephen Breyer and Justice Elena Kagan, described the lower court’s order allowing curbside voting in November as “modest,” and she said she would not have put it on hold. “It does not require all counties to adopt curbside voting; it simply gives prepared counties the option to do so. This remedy respects both the right of voters with disabilities to vote safely and the State’s interest in orderly elections,” she said, noting that 28 states permit curbside voting. The decision stemmed from a lawsuit the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program filed on behalf of voters with health issues who were concerned about the risk of COVID-19 at the polls. The state’s Republican attorney general and secretary of state sought to block a lower court’s ruling in the case that would have let counties offer curbside voting. Lawyers for the state argued that since Alabama does not have a law expressly permitting curbside voting, that it should not be allowed. “I am very enthusiastic that the Supreme Court of the United States has seen fit to secure Alabama’s election integrity by ruling as to the letter and the spirit of the law,” Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said in a telephone interview. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall argued Alabama has “taken extraordinary measures to ensure that all voters can vote safely,” and that it would be potentially chaotic to rapidly implement curbside voting days ahead of the election. Deuel Ross, senior counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which brought the lawsuit, said he was disappointed and said there is nothing in state or federal law that prohibits this “very common means of people being able to vote.” “Over a third of Alabama voters are high-risk individuals who are more susceptible to death or serious illness from COVID-19, and the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has recommended curbside voting as a means for people not to interact with other individuals. There is testimony that was cited by Justice Sotomayor from our clients that they don’t want to risk their life to vote and they shouldn’t have to,” Ross said in a telephone interview. It was unclear how many counties would offer curbside voting if it was allowed, but Ross said several counties had expressed interest. Jefferson and Montgomery counties were open to offering curbside voting, according to court filings. The lawsuit had also challenged Alabama absentee ballot rules that require voters to get their identification photocopied and witnessed, The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the state’s absentee ballot requirements. The Supreme Court has weighed in on curbside voting in Alabama before, at an earlier stage of the case. In July, before the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg left a vacancy on the court, the justices split 5-4 along ideological lines to put on hold a court orde Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Group offers churches $6-a-ballot to help people vote early
A group’s offer to pay churches $6 for every person they help to vote early this year does not violate any law although it might not be the “best practice” for getting out votes, Alabama’s elections chief said Monday. The “New South Souls to the Polls Initiative” is paying churches a $6 contribution “for each documented early vote” to cover the expenses for outreach and transportation to help people vote early by absentee ballot, according to a letter mailed to pastors by Hank Sanders, a former longtime Democratic state senator from Selma who is organizing the effort. It’s unclear how many churches were offered the funds. Sanders said the $6 is intended to compensate groups for transportation, outreach, and time to help people vote early and is not tied to how a person will vote. “It says specifically no person can be paid to vote. This is not about paying anybody to vote. It’s about trying to encourage people,” Sanders said in a phone interview. The New South Coalition is a predominately Black political group that is dedicated to the “progressive ideals of freedom, justice, and democracy.” Sanders said the effort is being run by the New South Alliance LLC, an entity dedicated to get-out-the-vote efforts. Absentee ballot requests have skyrocketed since the state office loosened rules because of the COVID-19 pandemic. People lined up Saturday in Birmingham and Montgomery to cast absentee ballots via in-person voting after local election officials offered Saturday balloting. A national Republican group backing Republican Tommy Tuberville in his bid to unseat incumbent Sen. Doug Jones criticized the $6 as a “cash for votes” scheme. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, a Republican, said he reviewed the situation and determined there is nothing nefarious as long as the $6 is not tied to voting a particular way. “It’s not illegal. It’s certainly not a best practice,” Merrill said in a telephone interview. “It does not say you are going to give it to someone to vote a particular way or vote for a particular party or to vote for, or against, a particular initiative, and so there is nothing there that is illegal.” The National Republican Senatorial Committee called it a “desperate and shady cash-for-votes scheme” and noted that a related organization, the New South Alliance, has endorsed Jones and Jones’ campaign has given money to the New South Alliance LLC. “Jones knows his radical message doesn’t resonate with Alabamians and has turned to dishonest campaign tactics to pay for votes,” National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson Paige Lindgren said in a news release. Sanders said the effort is in, “no kind of way tied to Doug Jones.” “It’s a shame that so many people don’t want other folks to vote,” Sanders. A spokeswoman for the Jones campaign said they “appreciate Secretary Merrill’s quick attention to this concern.” “While this practice is legal, the campaign does not condone it and strongly discourages it,” Jones campaign spokeswoman Lizzie Grams said. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Atheist advocacy group sues state over religious voter oath
A Wisconsin-based group is filing the lawsuit against Secretary of State John H. Merrill on behalf of four Alabamians, who said their constitutional rights have been obstructed
New stickers honoring veterans available to Alabama voters
The stickers, which will be available at in-person voting sites on Nov. 3, feature an outline of the state with an Alabama state flag and the words “I vote in honor of a veteran.”
John Merrill speaks out against efforts to mislead and confuse voters
Voter registration and misleading information about how and where voters should register has been a hot topic during this election cycle. President Donald Trump and many other leaders have warned that voter confusion and misleading information may hinder people at the polls. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill was recently made aware of voter fraud that could lead voters to inadvertently give away personal information to an unknown source. Secretary Merrill was informed that a third party organization has been contacting voters with outdated and inaccurate information in order to encourage people to vote. However, this information isn’t needed and the organization sending out these letters isn’t affiliated with the Alabama Secretary of State. According to the press release, the letter is being sent by Election Mail Service out of Austin, Texas, and encourages voters to visit ALVotes.org. That site is not associated with the Office of the Secretary of State. The letter indicates that the voter is not registered and even includes a voter registration application. These letters are using misspelled names and misleading data in order target voters throughout Alabama. Secretary Merrill stated, “After being notified by numerous voters who have received information in the mail addressed to people who have passed away or no longer reside in our state, our office immediately contacted the Election Mail Service to stop spreading the false information, which has in turn only confused and misled voters. Alabamians should once again be reminded to use AlabamaVotes.gov as their trusted source for election information. Questions about the election should be answered directly by our Office at (334) 242-7200.” Similar issues have happened in other states as well. In Georgia, third party organizations are sending out absentee ballots and confusing voters. Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger told CNN that the state’s voter list is available for purchase on the state website to any groups “for the purposes of outreach and education.” Third party organizations have stepped in for the November election because the state opted not to send out absentee ballot requests like they did in the June primary when they sent out 7 million absentee ballot applications. Raffenspereger instead has pushed for voters to request ballots on an absentee ballot website. Walter Jones, Raffensperger’s voter education manager commented, “Third parties on the left, right and nonpartisan groups are sending applications to various targeted groups. Data collected from voters on their request forms should be redirected to county elections offices, not third parties.” In Alabama, voters can check their voter registration status online using the registration portal.
Federal judge loosens absentee rules for vulnerable voters
U.S. District Judge Abdul K. Kallon said that being forced to follow some provisions during the general election could wrongly endanger their lives.
More questions arise about the Energy & Policy Institute
The Energy and Policy Institute (EPI), a California based group that has been active in Alabama, has participated in many official state and federal functions in recent years around environmental and energy policy. They have been cited as experts on climate and energy policy and are often quoted and sourced in articles and journals. However, numerous entities have raised questions around the group’s legality after finding the organization doesn’t appear to exist in any official state or federal records. Last week, Jobkeeper Alliance filed an ethics complaint in Florida against Alissa Jean Schafer for receiving income from the Energy and Policy Institute. Schafer is the Seat 4 Supervisor of the Broward Soil and Water Conservation District as well as a Research and Communications Specialist for EPI. Public officials in the state of Florida must disclose where their income comes from so that the public is informed if there is a conflict of interest. Schafer has included income received from EPI in her financial disclosure report. But Jobkeeper Alliance believes this is a violation considering there are no records of EPI having any business or non-profit status in any state. JobKeeper Alliance also points to the irony of a watchdog group that is itself funded by “dark money” to the extent that there is no record of them and points to their funding possibly coming from Chinese and US solar interests. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill previously inquired as to the legality of EPI’s business as well. In April 2020, Merrill sent a letter to Daniel Tait, Research and Communication Manager for EPI, and David Pomerantz, another member of the group. In the letter, Merrill questions the transparency and legal status of the group and who pays Tait. Merrill asks three specific questions of the group: What is the legal status of the Energy and Policy Institute? Who funds your organization’s work? If you are funded, as spokesperson David Pomerantz has said publicly, “by environmental foundations interested in addressing the threat posed by climate change,” who are those foundations and to whom are they giving their contributions? Who compensates the numerous individuals like Mr. Tait, who work for the Energy and Policy Institute and who are listed on your group’s reports? According to Grace Newcombe, press secretary for Merrill, no response has been received from any correspondence sent to EPI. “The public deserves to know who pays the salaries of Alissa Schafer, Daniel Tait, and the many others who work under the name Energy and Policy Institute,” said Kimberly Adams, Executive Director of the Jobkeeper Alliance. “If the group really values transparency, it can start by answering the simplest of questions: who are they, and who pays for their work?” These recent inquiries are not the beginning of the investigation into EPI. In 2017, the Campaign for Accountability wrote a report on the Energy and Policy group. According to the report, “EPI is a dark money group: it does not appear to have non-profit status, it is not registered with any relevant secretary of state, and no one admits to funding it. It appears that EPI may be simply the creation of a public relations firm.” The firm the report references, Tigercomm, represents some of the largest solar companies and manufacturers in the world, including the world’s largest solar panel manufacturer, China’s Trina Solar. In an opinion piece the same year, Daniel Stevens stated, “Despite its opaque background, journalists tend to cover EPI’s findings and quote its employees as they would any non-profit. Popular Science, for example, recently interviewed EPI’s executive director about climate change in Dubai and referred to the organization as a watchdog group without further comment.” According to the group’s website, EPI is a watchdog organization that “exposes attacks and deception by fossil fuel companies, utilities, their trade associations and front groups through investigative research and analysis.” They claim to not receive any funding from corporations, trade associations, or governments. Their website goes on to list a number of employees, including Alissa Jean Shafer and Daniel Tait. This morning Alabama Today reached Schafer on her personal cell number to ask her about the ethics complaint. She asked that we email her our questions, which we obliged. When asked for her email, she provided an email address from the EPI. Below are the questions we posed so that she could clarify her involvement in this organization. 1. How long have you been associated with EPI, and how did you learn about the group? 2. Your financial disclosure references income from EPI. Are you a 1099 independent contractor for the organization or a full-time employee? 3. Our research, along with research from Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill indicates the organization has not filed as a legal business or non-profit entity in any state or federal database. Are you able to locate and provide a legal business address and EIN number for the organization that would appear on a paycheck or tax document? 4. If not paid directly from EPI, can you identify who has been paying you, and will you change your financial disclosure report to reflect that? At the time of publishing, Ms. Schafer had not responded to the email inquiry or our follow-up text.
John Merrill extends absentee voting for House District 33 special election
Voters in House District 33, which includes parts of Clay, Coosa, and Talladega counties, concerned about the COVID-19 pandemic, will be able to vote absentee in the October 6 special election, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill announced Friday. Merrill’s announcement follows Governor Kay Ivey’s Tuesday announcement where she set the House District 33 special primary election for Tuesday, October 6, 2020, in order to fill the vacant seat left by the unexpected passing of Representative Ron Johnson. Any qualified voter who determines it is impossible or unreasonable to vote at their polling place shall be eligible to check the box on the absentee ballot application that is most applicable to that individual. State law allows the Secretary of State to issue absentee voting guidance during declared states of emergency, allowing Secretary Merrill to encourage voters to check the box which reads as follows (in the case none of the boxes are appropriate): “I have a physical illness or infirmity which prevents my attendance at the polls. [ID REQUIRED]” If necessary, a special primary runoff election will be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The special general election is set for Tuesday, January 19, 2021. Deadlines For the House District 33 special primary election, the deadline to register to vote is Monday, September 21, the deadline to apply for an absentee ballot is Thursday, October 1, the last day to return an absentee ballot by hand is Monday, October 5, and the last day to postmark an absentee ballot is Monday, October 5. Voters who are eligible to vote pursuant to the Uniformed and Overseas Absentee Voting Act will have until Tuesday, October 6 to postmark an absentee ballot.
Seeking comeback, Jeff Sessions faces Tommy Tuberville in Alabama race
Sessions hopes his long relationship with state Republicans will carry him through.
John Merrill: Masks can’t be required at polls.
Several cities and counties have local mandates to wear masks in public places.
