Alabama

Coalition of rights groups sues Alabama to block enforcement of law criminalizing absentee ballot assistance

Published

2 years ago

May 4, 2024

Coalition of rights groups sues Alabama to block enforcement of law criminalizing absentee ballot assistance

A coalition of rights groups led by the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP filed a lawsuit Friday challenging four provisions of Alabama Senate Bill 1, Act No. 2024-33 (“SB 1”), which criminalizes absentee ballot assistance. The case is in the Southern Division of the Northern District of Alabama.

Two of the challenged provisions were the Payment Provisions and the Gift Provisions. The filing says that the Payment Provision “makes it ‘unlawful for a third party to knowingly receive a payment,’ or ‘knowingly pay…a third party,’ to ‘distribute, order, request, collect, prefill, complete, obtain, or deliver a voter’s absentee ballot application.’ The Gift Provision “makes it ‘unlawful for a third party to knowingly receive…a gift,’ or ‘knowingly…provide a gift,’ to a ‘third party’ to ‘distribute, order, request, collect, prefill, complete, obtain, or deliver a voter’s absentee ballot application.” Both the Payment and Gift Provisions carry a Class B or C felony penalty.

Other challenged provisions include the Prefilling Provision and the Submission Provision. The filing says that the Prefilling Restriction “makes it ‘unlawful for any person to knowingly distribute an absentee ballot application to a voter that is prefilled with the voter’s name or any other information required on the application form.” The Submission Provision “makes it ‘unlawful for an individual to submit a completed absentee ballot application to the absentee election manager other than his or her own application,’ unless that person is seeking emergency medical treatment within five days before an election.” Both the Payment and Prefiling Provision carry a Class A misdemeanor penalty.

Ballot harvesting was the primary motive behind SB 1. Ballot harvesting is the practice and laws that allow third parties to collect and submit absentee ballots. Laws vary state by state, with some states allowing ballot harvesting by specific persons, some allowing a person chosen by the voter to return their ballot, some states unspecified on who may return ballots, and one state, Alabama, that allows only the voter to return their ballot.

According to the Legal Defense Fund, SB 1 would prohibit “non-partisan civil rights, voting rights, and disability rights organizations” from assisting voters with their absentee ballots for the November General Election. Absentee ballots are especially significant for groups such as “senior citizen voters, incarcerated voters, voters with disabilities, and low-literacy voters.”According to the Alabama Secretary of State, there were 305,663 absentee votes cast in the 2020 General Election, making up 13.1% of the total votes cast.

The lawsuit challenges SB 1 on the grounds of criminalizing constitutionally protected speech and expression, and for being too vague in its language. The current language of SB 1 would make it a crime “to provide a postage stamp to a neighbor distributing absentee ballot applications, or for a grandmother to show her appreciation for her grandchild’s assistance in completing or delivering her absentee ballot application by giving them gas money or a token gift like a pie.”

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act prohibits the enactment of new voting procedures until the procedures have been determined to have “neither discriminatory purpose or effect.”

Alabama is among the states with the most rigid absentee ballot process. State law lays out 8 situations for which a person is eligible for an absentee ballot, including if the person expects to be away from their residence on election day, if the person has a physical illness that would prevent them from voting in person, if the person is a student, if the person is a member of the military or a military dependent, if the person is an election officer or pollworker, and if the person is a family caregiver, or if the person is incarcerated but not yet convicted of a “felony involving moral turpitude.”

Once a person meets one of these criteria, they must receive an absentee ballot application, fill it out, including a copy of their photo identification, and either deliver it in person or physically place it in a mail box. Brookings has given Alabama a grading of F for their absentee ballot procedures.

After singing SB 1 into law, Governor Kay Ivey said “we are committed to ensuring our elections are free and fair…Under my watch, there will be no funny business in Alabama elections.”

Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton questioned the bill, saying “I think this is a national Republican issue. I think the state is jumping on something…Ballot harvesting is not an issue in this state.”

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Alabama

Alabama Adds JUCO Defensive Back, Tuscaloosa Native to 2026 Signing Class

Published

7 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Alabama Adds JUCO Defensive Back, Tuscaloosa Native to 2026 Signing Class

Alabama football added another member to its 2026 signing class in cornerback Nick Sherman on Sunday evening.

Sherman is the Crimson Tide’s 24th signee, as this news comes 11 days after early national signing day.

The JUCO product was formerly at Itawamba Community College. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder is also a Tuscaloosa native, as he went to Northridge High School.

This season at Itawamba CC, Sherman logged 24 tackles and two interceptions in eight games as a sophomore.

Sherman is the fifth defensive back in the Crimson Tide’s 2026 signing class, as he joins cornerbacks Zyan Gibson and Jorden Edmonds, along with safeties Jireh Edwards and Rihyael Kelley.

Coming HOME, COMMITTED 🐘🐘 . pic.twitter.com/6xKIhWIK56
— Nick “ vibez” Sherman ✞ (@nickvibeez) December 15, 2025

Alabama’s 2026 Signing Class

CB Zyan Gibson, 5-foot-11, 177 lbs. – Gadsden, Alabama (Committed 12/24/2024)
CB Jorden Edmonds, 6-foot-2, 175 lbs. – Marietta, Georgia (Committed 03/26/2025)
EDGE Jamarion Matthews, 6-foot-2, 240 lbs. – Gainesville, Georgia (Committed 02/21/2025)
EDGE Kamhariyan Johnson, 6-foot-4, 260 lbs. – Muscle Shoals, Alabama (Committed 04/12/2025)
OL Chris Booker, 6-foot-4, 285 lbs. – Atlanta, Georgia (Committed 02/20/2025)
QB Jett Thomalla, 6-foot-3, 205 lbs. – Omaha, Nebraska (Committed 06/17/2025)
S Rihyael Kelley, 6-foot-3, 180 lbs. – Cincinnati, Ohio (Committed 06/23/2025)
SN Eli Deutsch, 6-foot-2, 225 lbs. – Franklin, Wisconsin (Committed 06/24/2025)
RB Ezavier Crowell, 5-foot-10, 210 lbs. – Jackson, Alabama (Committed 06/26/2025)
TE Mack Sutter, 6-foot-5, 230 lbs. – Dunlap, Illinois (Committed 06/26/2025)
LB Zay Hall, 6-foot-2, 222 lbs. – Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Committed 06/27/2025)
LB Xavier Griffin, 6-foot-3, 200 lbs. – Gainesville, Georgia (Committed 06/29/2025)
WR Cederian Morgan, 6-foot-4, 220 lbs – Alexander City, Alabama (Committed 07/02/2025)
DL Nolan Wilson, 6-foot-4, 250 lbs. – Picayune, Mississippi (Committed 07/04/2025)
S Jireh Edwards, 6-foot-2, 210 lbs. – Baltimore, Maryland (Committed 07/05/2025)
QB Tayden Kaawa, 6-foot-5, 235 lbs. – Orem, Utah (Committed 07/22/2025)
OT Bear Fretwell, 6-foot-6, 295 lbs. – Brooklet, Georgia (Committed 07/25/25)
OT Jared Doughty, 6-foot-5, 300 lbs. – Atlanta, Georgia (Committed 10/05/2025)
EDGE Corey Howard, 6-foot-6, 245 lbs. – Valdosta, Georgia (Committed 10/19/2025)
OL Tyrell Miller, 6-foot-5, 305 lbs. – College of San Mateo (Committed 11/29/2025)
EDGE Malique Franklin, 6-foot-5, 250 lbs. – Daphne, Alabama (Committed 12/02/2025)
TE Jude Cascone, 6-foot-2, 225 lbs. – Marietta, Georgia (Committed 11/30/2025)
RB Traeshawn Brown, 5-foot-10, 190 lb. – Huntsville, Texas (Committed 12/04/2025)
CB Nick Sherman, 6-foot-3, 190 lb, – Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Committed 12/14/25)

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Alabama

Alabama community rallies to save Ringo, an injured dog looking for a home: ‘Full of hope’

Published

19 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

Alabama community rallies to save Ringo, an injured dog looking for a home: ‘Full of hope’

Ringo, an abandoned puppy that was dropped off at the Madison Police Department earlier this week, will get the surgery he needs thanks to an outpouring of donations from the city’s residents.

On Dec. 9, the Madison Police Department said in a Facebook post it was trying to raise $2,000 so Ringo could get an injured leg amputated.

“Citizens of Madison, we need your help. Recently, an abandoned and abused puppy was brought to us—sweet, loving, and still full of hope despite what he’s been through,” the post said.

“To give him the chance at a healthy, happy life, he needs a surgery to amputate an injured leg. Once he recovers, he’ll be ready for adoption and would make an incredible addition to a loving Madison family—just in time for Christmas.”

Just three days later, the department said in an update that they’d raised the money they needed, and Ringo would get his surgery in the middle of January.

During a vet visit, the pup was given a clean bill of health and all his required shots.

“We completely met the goal and could not have done it without the help of all our citizens here so we greatly appreciate everything you guys donated for him,” an update video said.

Now the police department is asking for the community to step up again and help get Ringo adopted before his surgery.

“Our next thing we can do is have him adopted. He is ready to go into somebody’s home so he can get acclimated and ready to go before his surgery,” the post said.

Anyone interested in adopting Ringo is asked to call Madison’s Animal Control at 256-772-5694.

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Alabama

BamaCentral Courtside From Arizona’s 96-75 Win Over Alabama

Published

1 day ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

BamaCentral Courtside From Arizona’s 96-75 Win Over Alabama

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — No. 12 Alabama fell to No. 1 Arizona in Legacy Arena in the fifth annual C.M. Newton Classic. The Crimson Tide held a 2-point halftime lead, but got decimated in the second half, opening the first six minutes of the second frame with just two field goals made.

The top-ranked Wildcats went on to claim a 96-75 victory and dropped the Crimson Tide’s record in the event to 2-3.

“They’re obviously a really good team,” Nate Oats said. “There’s a reason they’re number one in the country. I thought the first half we played pretty well. We were down five on the glass and needed to clean it up a little bit, and then the second half we had this issue where we just haven’t had very good starts to the second half. We came out and didn’t have a very good start, and it got progressively worse. I think they scored, shoot 39 the entire first half. They had 39 in less than 12 minutes to start the second half.

“Start of the second half was bad. Obviously, they came out of halftime ready to play; we didn’t. The toughness factor was a problem. It’s impossible – I shouldn’t say impossible. It’s nearly impossible to win a game when your opponent gets 28 more field goal attempts than you. If you look, we outshot them from the field and from the free throw line, both percentage-wise. Free throws, they made one more free throw than we did and they got 28 more field goal attempts. You can’t win games giving your opponent 28 more field goal attempts. Offensive glass we had three the whole game, they had 22. We lost the rebounds by 20 again. This has been a recurring issue for us.”

Alabama History in C.M. Newton Classic

2021 – Davidson 79, Alabama 78
2022 – Gonzaga 100, Alabama 90
2023 – Alabama 101, Liberty 56
2024 – Alabama 100, Illinois 87
2025 – Arizona 96, Alabama 75

Watch the above video as BamaCentral writers Katie Windham, Hunter De Siver, and Will Miller, provide thoughts and takeaways from the Alabama men’s basketball team’s 96-75 loss against the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday. The trio discusses the performance of the No. 12 Crimson Tide and the rebounding issues that continue to plague the program.

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