Law Expansion
Alabama says a new state law expanding the list of felonies that cause a person to lose their right to vote won’t be enforced until after the November election and asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit over the effective date.
The Alabama attorney general office wrote in a Friday court filing that the new law, which has a Oct. 1 effective date, cannot be used to block people from voting in the upcoming election, because the Alabama Constitution prohibits new election laws from taking effect within six months of the general election.
The Campaign Legal Center had filed the lawsuit last month in Montgomery Circuit Court seeking to clarify that the new law cannot block people from voting in the November election.
The center argued that there had been a lack of guidance from the state. Without clarity, they argued, it is setting up a confusing situation for voters and registrars to figure out who can and cannot vote in November.
HB100 adds that a conviction for attempting, soliciting or conspiracy to commit one of the more than 40 crimes that currently cause a person to lose their voting rights, will also be considered a disqualifying crime.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two men, both convicted of attempted murder years ago, who would lose their right to vote under the expanded list.
The state wrote that the two men are “free to vote” in the upcoming election, but “after that election, however, they will be disqualified and will not be able to vote lawfully unless their voting rights are restored.”
John Wesley Foster Act
A new law requires public schools in Alabama to have a cardiac emergency response plan in place.
Governor Kay Ivey signed the John Wesley Foster Act late last week. It's named after the nine-year-old boy from Gadsden who died from cardiac arrest in 2006.
The bill's sponsor, Representative Ed Oliver, said, "This bill ensures that schools will have the training and tools necessary to respond quickly and efficiently to a cardiac event."
