VICTORY! Most Alabamians with Felony Convictions Can Vote in November

Montgomery, AL — Alabama voters scored a victory today following a successful lawsuit Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed on behalf of two Alabama voters with past felony convictions. The judge’s order makes it crystal clear that currently eligible Alabamians will be able to vote in the 2024 election without extra confusion or fear.  

Just over a month ago, CLC and Alabama voting rights organizations sounded the alarm that H.B. 100 would cause confusion among voters and election officials and could deprive many Alabamians of their freedom to vote right before the 2024 election.  

Facing pressure from the lawsuit, Alabama’s attorney general then issued guidance clarifying that H.B. 100 cannot be used to block people from voting in the upcoming election. Today’s ruling successfully closes CLC’s lawsuit and includes strong language that will help make sure Alabamians with past felony convictions are not unfairly blocked from making their voices heard in the November election.  

“Our democracy is by the people and for the people, so every person’s voice must be heard. Today, democracy prevailed,” said Ellen Boettcher, Legal Counsel for Campaign Legal Center. “The state must now ensure that Alabama officials heed the judge’s order to avoid unnecessary confusion at the ballot box and ensure that all eligible Alabamians can exercise their freedom to vote this November.”

"I’m grateful that an Alabama Judge affirmed the right to vote in the upcoming election for people like me, who have labored long to regain our place in society, and exercise the most basic right of citizenship. It is curious that by contrast, Alabama Legislators have labored at least as long to suppress the voices of so many Alabamians," said JaiGregory Clarke, Birmingham hub organizer and voter rights restoration state lead at Faith in Action Alabama.

Background:

In July, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a lawsuit, in partnership with Alabama attorney J. Mitch McGuire, to block H.B. 100 from being implemented to ensure that currently eligible Alabama voters with felony convictions would not be disenfranchised this November.

Alabama’s Constitution does not disenfranchise all individuals with felony convictions, but it prevents those convicted of “crimes of moral turpitude” from voting until their rights are restored. This vague language, originally adopted in the 1901 Alabama Constitution to “establish white supremacy in this State,” was a method of keeping Black people from voting without overtly breaking federal law.  

Until 2017, Alabama law disenfranchised more than 130,000 Black citizens — roughly 15% of Black adults in the state – and never explained which felonies were disqualifying until 2017, allowing the state to arbitrarily and unequally enforce this law.

Alabamians had long been pushing the state to clarify which felony convictions take away the right to vote. In 2017, the Legislature finally passed a law defining which convictions take away the right to vote.

CLC’s Restore Your Vote tool is a helpful resource to help people with past felony convictions understand their voting rights. Learn more here.