As Alabama Goes to the Polls, Worries Emerge That Some Are Denied Voting Rights

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WBHM

Since last year, Lorenzo French says he’s helped about 50 people in rural Greene County regain their ability to vote.

Many of them were improperly removed from voter rolls because they had a felony conviction, though not the type that should have banned them from voting, French said. Others didn’t have photo identification, a requirement to vote in Alabama since 2014.

More Alabamians are registered to vote than ever before and more ballots were cast in this year’s gubernatorial primaries than in 2010 contests, but some pockets of the state have seen decreases, including Greene County and 10 others where there are now fewer black registered voters.

So far, the SPLC and the Campaign Legal Center have helped 1,104 people with felony convictions either register to vote or begin the process to regain their right. They’ve also trained 1,097 community leaders and activists to register others.

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