Don’t let down your guard: Learn how voter access laws affect you in 2024
Voters casting a ballot in the South may encounter recently passed laws that could suppress the vote.
As the Southern Poverty Law Center continues to encourage voter turnout through its The South’s Got Now | Decidimos campaign, here are some laws Southern voters need to watch out for this election year:
Alabama
The Alabama Legislature passed two bills during the 2024 legislative session that limit ballot access. SB 1 makes voting absentee harder and criminalizes helping others apply for an absentee ballot if they receive any compensation or gift for such assistance. This particularly harms communities such as older people, college students, people with disabilities, low-literacy voters and incarcerated people. What’s more, the law doesn’t define what constitutes a gift. Ultimately, there may be a chilling effect as people choose not to help neighbors or family members due to fear of arrest.
Under Alabama’s HB 100, the list of felony convictions that can disqualify a person from voting is greatly expanded. The SPLC flatly opposes felony disenfranchisement as it exists today, much less massive expansions of it as seen with this law, which will take effect after November’s election.
Florida
In Florida, SB 524, a 2022 law, mandates that vote-by-mail ballot requests expire every two years.
The first major election this law affects is the November 2024 election. If you haven’t already done so, be sure to submit a new request this year. Also, tell others wishing to vote by mail to do the same!
SB 7050, passed in 2023, could leave more voters at risk of their registration being canceled. For example, the law’s voter list maintenance requirements could lead to voters having their registrations purged. It also places undue regulations on organizations that help individuals register to vote.
Georgia
SB 189 makes it easier for people to file voter challenges against anyone, potentially increasing the number of baseless voter challenges while driving up the cost in time and money for elections administrators who must consider these challenges.
Louisiana
The state Legislature used this year’s session to pass four new restrictions on voter registration and absentee ballot processes.
Under HB 506, people and groups that hold voter registration drives must register with the secretary of state to review related laws. However, as a news report noted, the specific requirements for compliance are vague.
SB 226 says any absentee-by-mail ballot missing required information that is not fixed by the voter in the time required under law will require a majority of members of the parish’s board of election supervisors to validate it. The law is part of a larger effort erecting barriers to voting by creating opportunities to reject votes on technicalities.
HB 476 states that unless you are a voter’s immediate family member, you can’t deliver more than one marked ballot to the registrar. And SB 155 says it’s illegal to witness the certificate of more than one voter who isn’t an immediate family member. This disenfranchises voters, such as people with disabilities or older people, who rely on help from neighbors or friends to cast their ballots.
Mississippi
SB 2425 restricts who can witness a person signing their absentee ballot, how many ballots an individual can witness a person signing and who can return the ballots for another voter. This law, like some of those listed for Alabama and Louisiana, disenfranchises voters who rely on help from neighbors or friends to cast their ballots.
Don’t despair, vote!
These laws should not discourage you. They should inspire you to act. Remember, as a U.S. citizen, your vote is your superpower. Your vote helps democracy flourish. Cast your ballot on Election Day.
Illustration at top: Through The South’s Got Now | Decidimos campaign, the Southern Poverty Center aims to empower and unite voters from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. (Credit: Lindsey Made This)
