Background: House Bill 95 seeks to authorize registered voters to apply for and vote using absentee ballots without an excuse. Existing law requires voters to fit one of eight criteria in order to be eligible to vote absentee, such as an expectation you will absent from your county of residence on Election Day or an illness or physical disability. HB 95 would do away with the requirement to fit any of those criteria and allow any registered voter to vote by absentee ballot.
Our Position: We support HB 95. By eliminating the requirement for an excuse to apply for an absentee ballot, more voters can participate in the process. Access to absentee ballots has proven important in increasing access to the voting process for Alabamians, especially during the pandemic. We support increasing access to the ballot and using the absentee voting process to provide more opportunities for voters to participate in the process.
