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Friend, 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: AlabamaThe 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 takes effect Oct. 1. FloridaIn 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.
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