Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen discusses new ‘ballot harvesting’ law

MONTGOMERY, Ala. ( WIAT ) — Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said paid political activists have worked to interfere with elections in the state before.

With a new “ballot harvesting” bill signed into law and a new voter integrity system in place, Allen said Alabamians are in for a safe and secure election season.

He said the new “ballot harvesting” law requires individuals to turn in their completed application on their own if they receive help along the way. The new legislation also prohibits prefilled voter applications that come through the mail.

“We just want to make sure that we protect this process and also protect those that are disabled,” Allen said. “If there is a person out there that is disabled, we mirror the federal language that’s in the Voting Rights Act.”

He said that anyone can still receive the assistance they need throughout the process. Allen also said a new voter integrity database protects voter information.

“We’ve also identified over 109,000 individuals that have moved out of the state, and we are working those lists to maintain clean voter files,” Allen said.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall praised the new system.

“Obviously, election integrity is something that’s critically important to the Secretary of State as well as to the people of Alabama,” Marshall said. “I am grateful for his leadership and look forward to a problem free election in Alabama in November.”

Allen encourages all Alabamians to make sure they are registered to vote by visiting alabamavotes.gov .

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