§ 17-11-5 — Delivery of Absentee Ballots; Maintenance of Voter Lists

(a) Upon receipt of an application for an absentee ballot as provided in Section 17-11-3, if the applicant’s name appears on the list of qualified voters produced from the state voter registration list in the election to be held, or if the applicant qualifies for a provisional absentee ballot, the absentee election manager shall furnish the absentee ballot to the applicant by: (1) Forwarding it by United States mail to the applicant’s or voter’s residence address or, upon written request of the voter, to the address where the voter regularly receives mail; or (2) by handing the absentee ballot to the applicant in person or, in the case of emergency voting when the applicant requires medical treatment, his or her designee in person. If the absentee election manager has reasonable cause to believe that the applicant has given a fraudulent address on the application for the absentee ballot, the absentee election manager shall turn over the ballot application to the district attorney for any action which may be necessary under this article. The absentee election manager may require additional proof of an applicant’s eligibility to vote absentee when there is evidence of continuous absentee voting. The absentee election manager shall mail any absentee ballot requested to be mailed as provided in Section 17-11-3 no later than the next business day after an application has been received unless the absentee ballots have not been delivered to the absentee election manager. If the absentee ballots have not been so delivered, the absentee election manager shall hold all requests until the ballots are delivered and shall then respond by placing ballots in the mail no later than the next business day.
(b) The official list of qualified voters shall be furnished to the absentee election manager by the judge of probate using a printout from the state voter registration list of registered voters for that county containing voter registration information useful in the identification of absentee voters. The information provided in this report shall be established by rules adopted by the Secretary of State with the advice of the Alabama Circuit Court Clerks Association or its members and shall indicate whether the individual is obligated to produce identification in accordance with Sections 17-9-30 and 17-10-1. The Secretary of State may further provide by administrative rule for electronic access to this list for optional use by the absentee election manager. This list shall be made available beginning at least 55 days before the election. In municipal elections, the official list of qualified voters shall be furnished to the absentee election manager at least 35 days before the election. Any supplemental list of qualified electors shall also be provided to the absentee election manager as soon as the list becomes available. The absentee election manager shall underscore on the list the name of each voter who has applied for an absentee ballot and shall write immediately beside his or her name the word “absentee.” The Secretary of State by rule may provide for electronic access to the absentee election manager’s county list of registered voters in lieu of the printed list and for the method of identifying applicants for absentee ballots in conjunction with the state voter registration list.
(c)(1) The list of electors voting by absentee ballot shall remain confidential until the day following the election. The absentee election manager in all elections shall deliver to the board of registrars the day following the election, a copy of the list of all absentee voters, at which point the list is deemed a public record. The list shall be maintained in the office of the circuit clerk for 60 days after the election, at which time it shall be delivered to the judge of probate. Before the polls open at any election on election day, the absentee election manager shall effectuate the delivery to the election officers of each voting place a list showing the name and address of every person whose name appears on the official list of qualified electors for the voting place who applied for an absentee ballot in the election. The name of the person who applied for an absentee ballot shall be identified as an absentee voter on the list of qualified electors kept at the voting place, and the person shall not vote again, except that in county, state, and federal elections the person may vote a provisional ballot. Applications for absentee ballots are required for elections that are more than 42 days apart, except as to individuals voting pursuant to the federal Uniformed and Overseas Absentee Voting Act, 42 U.S.C. 1973ff.
(2) The absentee election manager shall redact any information required to be redacted pursuant to Section 17-4-33 from any copy of an absentee voter list. This subdivision shall not affect poll lists used at local precincts.
(d) For individuals voting pursuant to the federal Uniformed and Overseas Absentee Voting Act, 42 U.S.C. 1973ff, the Secretary of State, by rule, shall prescribe use of standardized military and overseas voter registration applications and applications for absentee ballots adopted by the United States government. The Secretary of State shall also prescribe by rule provisions within the standard state application form for absentee voting which permit the voter to identify himself or herself as a military or overseas voter. Unless otherwise indicated by the military or overseas voter, an application for an absentee ballot by such a voter shall remain valid for any election for a federal, state, or county office or for any proposed constitutional amendment or a state or county referendum held through the end of the calendar year in which the application is filed, provided that if an election cycle begins one year and continues into the subsequent year, the application shall be valid for the whole election cycle. The absentee election manager shall provide an absentee ballot to the military and overseas voters for each such subsequent election. The absentee election manager, within seven days after each regularly scheduled general election for federal office, shall report the number of military and overseas ballots mailed out and the number of ballots received to the Secretary of State, who shall report this information to the Federal Election Assistance Commission within 90 days of each regularly scheduled general election for federal office.

Legislative History

(Acts 1975, No. 1147, p. 2251, §3; Acts 1978, No. 616, p. 873, §3; Acts 1980, No. 80-732, p. 1478, §2; Acts 1986, No. 86-428, p. 791, §2; Acts 1994, No. 94-320, p. 553, §1; Acts 1996, 2nd Ex. Sess., No. 96-885, p. 1699, §3; Act 99-388, p. 615, §1; Act 2001-1097, 4th Sp. Sess., p. 1147, §1; Act 2003-313, p. 733, §2; Act 2003-400, p. 1150, §1; §17-10-5; amended and renumbered by Act 2006-570, p. 1331, §52; Act 2014-6, p. 21, §1; Act 2014-221, p. 704, §1; Act 2019-507, §1.)