Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) has signed into law legislation that makes it a crime to vote in Alabama and at least one other state in the same election.
State Rep. Chris Blackshear (R-Phenix City) sponsored the bill, HB 167, while Senate Majority Leader Clay Scofield (R-Guntersville) carried it in the upper chamber, Alabama’s Yellowhammer News reported.
While the bill prevents an individual from voting more than once in the same election, Alabama state Rep. Berry Forte (D) claimed the bill “is nothing but voter suppression” which targets African-American communities. Elected Republicans in the Alabama have maintained that the bill ensures “one person, one vote.”
Ivey met with Blackshear and signed the legislation Monday morning, saying in a tweet that the bill is “aimed to address voter fraud.”
“In Alabama, I am committed to ensuring we have free, fair, and safe elections and am proud to sign this important bill into law,” Ivey said in a statement following the signing. “Thank you to Rep. Chris Blackshear for his good work in the Legislature and for his help to further secure Alabama elections. Alabamians can be proud of Rep. Blackshear and feel even more confident in our elections.”
“I will always work to protect the voices of the people of our great state,” she added.
According to Yellowhammer News, “Under existing state law, it is already illegal to vote more than once in Alabama in the same election; however, it was not a violation of state law — until now — for someone to vote in the state of Alabama even if they have voted in another state in the same election, such as a presidential election.”
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