Alabama has a new law that stops crossover voting in the upcoming elections. The idea behind the law is to prevent voters from crossing from one party to another and deliberately changing the outcome of the other party’s races.
In a statement to Yellowhammer News, Secretary of State John Merrill said the legislation his office is charged implementing was proposed by Senator Tom Whatley and Representative Arnold Mooney. The new law states:
“If an elector votes in a primary election, he or she may vote in a subsequent primary runoff election only if he or she voted in the primary election of the same political party for which the runoff election is being held. For those persons who did not vote in a Primary Election, they may choose either party’s ballot in a Primary Run-Off Election.”
For instance, someone who votes in the Republican party’s primary election cannot turn around and vote in the Democratic party’s run-off. That person would have to vote in the Republican runoff.
In the past, cross party voting has been prohibited, but this is the first time that the state has implemented this particular law. The law went into effect July 1 and will, therefore, be in force during the August 15 special election, if a run off is required. The law will not affect the general election scheduled for December 12.
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