Judge dismisses lawsuit after Alabama says new felon voting law won’t be enforced this election

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit over the effective date of a new Alabama law that expands the list of felonies that would cause a person to lose the right to vote.

Circuit Judge James Anderson granted Alabama’s request to dismiss the lawsuit after the state assured the judge that the new law would not be enforced until after the November election.

Anderson noted in his order that plaintiffs, and others impacted by the expanded list, have the right to register and vote through the Nov. 5 election. Anderson handed down the order after a brief court hearing in Montgomery where the two sides agreed on the effective date.

The Campaign Legal Center had filed the suit seeking clarification that the new law won’t be used to block people from voting in November.

The legislation has an Oct. 1 effective date, but the Alabama Constitution prohibits new election laws from taking effect within six months of the general election. The group argued that those circumstances set up a potentially confusing situation over who could and could not vote in November.

Alabama officials said in a court filing that the state had no plans to implement the law before the election because of the constitutional provision and the time involved in making the change.

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