Alabamians’ right to vote in a free and fair election is the most basic of civil rights. Protecting the integrity of elections is the basis of defending many other rights that the citizens of this state and all Americans depend on. The preparation of elections should be professional, impartial, and transparent at all levels. The legitimacy of government is dependent on public confidence in electoral and political processes.

In recent legislative sessions, Alabama has enacted several election integrity reforms to strengthen transparency and public confidence in the electoral process. Senate Bill 1 by Garlan Gudger aims at protecting the state’s elections from ballot harvesting. Specifically, it prohibits the pre-filling of an absentee ballot application by a third-party and prohibits a person from receiving payment or providing a payment or gift to another person for distributing, ordering, requesting, collecting, pre-filling, completing, obtaining, or delivering an absentee ballot application of a voter. Exceptions are provided for disabled and military and overseas voters.

Lawmakers also enacted a ban against the use of ranked choice voting during the 2024 session, a method which allows electors to rank candidates for office in order of preference and tabulates ballots cast in multiple rounds until a single candidate attains a majority of the vote. Senate Bill 186 by Arthur Orr bans this method for any local, state, or federal election held in Alabama, ensuring that every Alabamian’s vote carries equal weight.

During the 2026 legislative session, Alabama enacted House Bill 95, the Alabama Post-Election Audit Act, further strengthening election integrity and transparency. The law requires counties to conduct post-election audits following each general election, including: one statewide race, one countywide race, and one precinct per county These audits provide an additional layer of verification and help reinforce public confidence in election outcomes.These reforms will further strengthen election security in Alabama.