In 2017, Alabama passed a new law, for the first time in more than a century, that created a definitive list of which convictions will take away a person’s right to vote. The law could re-enfranchise tens of thousands who were denied the right to vote but do not have a disqualifying conviction. Yet the state of Alabama has refused to spend any resources informing these citizens that they can vote. Recent polling showed that nearly 72% of Alabamians with felony convictions who are not registered to vote still do not know that the law has changed, much less whether it has restored their voting rights.
In 2018, Campaign Legal Center and the Southern Poverty Law Center launched the Alabama Voting Rights Project (AVRP) employing three full-time Re-Enfranchisement Fellows across the state. We individually assisted over 2,600 Alabamians with past convictions and trained more than 2,900 community leaders and activists on the rights restoration process.
CLC is continuing to assist Alabamians through the voting rights process and provide support to organizations engaged in rights restoration. We can help push back against systemic barriers that keep Alabamians front voting.
To get in touch, contact [email protected].
If you are an Alabama resident who wants to understand your voting rights, click here to access our tool.
Learn more about our work for voting rights in Alabama: