To: John Merrill, Secretary of State and Governor Kay Ivey
Alabama: Don't block Black votes!
Immediately cancel plans that would leave 29 counties without a single DMV location -- or otherwise provide alternate means for residents of these counties to obtain proper voter identification.
Why is this important?
Alabama just announced it would close 31 DMV offices throughout the state due to budget cuts. That leaves 29 counties in the state without a single DMV location -- and that's a huge problem for voters who live there.
Alabama's 2011 voter ID law blocks voters from the polls if they can't present a government issued photo ID. Most folks use a driver's license -- but without an easily accessible DMV location, many citizens won't be able to get any of the identification they need to exercise their right to vote.
Worse, these closures will hit poor Americans and communities of color the hardest -- 15 of the 29 counties left without a DMV are in Alabama's Black Belt, where voters have struggled under discriminatory voting practices for decades.
Voter ID laws are already controversial for their disproportionate impact on poor voters and voters of color. Alabama's decision to make it even harder for those voters to comply with their voter ID law will only amplify those concerns -- and it could violate federal voting law too.