Mail-in Voting Bill Faces GOP Opposition In Alabama Legislature
Tuscaloosa Representative Chris England (D-70) is one of a group of 29 Democrat lawmakers in the Alabama House of Representatives that is sponsoring legislation to allow mail-in balloting in this year's legislative session.
This is not the first attempt by Democrats to get pre-election day voting passed in Alabama. During the 2025 session legislation that would have required one early voting precinct in each county for one week before Election Day failed, as the Republican super-majority shot it down.
President Trump vehemently opposed the pandemic-imposed mail-in balloting by the Biden Administration. Following his election, the Alabama Legislature passed legislation banning drop boxes for ballots.
The League of Women Voters of Alabama backs the legislation pointing out that voting is a right, not a privilege. and this year's attempt with House Bill 270. But the possibility of the bill making it out of committee is somewhere between slim and none.
The bill was assigned to the House Constitution, Campaigns and Elections Committee, but Rep. Bob Fincher, R-Woodland, chair of the committee, said he did not take HB 59 up in his committee because he is not in favor of early voting due to the cost to the state.
All but three states, Alabama, Mississippi, and New Hampshire allow some form of pre-election day voting other that absentee ballots.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, in a 2020 reported noted that the only way an Alabama voter can cast an early ballot is by having an excuse. "Voters with an excuse such as out-of-county travel, long work shifts, military service, or incarceration can request a ballot."
The report further stated, "This is in stark contrast to the 28 states that offer no-excuse absentee voting and the growing number of states that hold elections entirely by mail. Alabama not only lags other states when it comes to voting by mail but fails to offer an even more common practice: in-person early voting."
Tuscaloosa Rep. Curtis Travis (D-72) calls lack of early voting a form of disfranchisement “Take a teacher who works out in another county and she’s gotta be at the school at 7:15. She doesn’t have time,” he said. “The thing is, we have enough people in this state that we need to be finding out additional ways to help people vote.”
Secretary of State Wes Allen points to absentee voting as a solution for people with difficulty getting to a polling place, He opposes the bill, stating, "I believe in election day, not election month."
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