On Thursday, Alabama House Republicans passed legislation to require a post-election audit after every countywide and statewide general election.

HB95, carried by State Rep. Joe Lovvorn (R-Auburn), who defended the bill against a filibuster by House Democrats for over two hours, directs each county’s probate judge to conduct an audit of ballots in at least one precinct and at least one countywide or statewide race selected at random after each general election.

The bill ultimately cleared the chamber 72-25, with only Democrats voting against.

Under the law, probate judges would set the audit’s date, time, and location and appoint poll workers to carry out the process. 

Alabama’s top election official is a major supporter of the bill.

“I’ve always supported election transparency. I voted for audits when I was a member of the AL House of Reps,” Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said in a statement.

“As the Sec of State, I do not have a vote on HB95 but I have always and will always support audits to ensure voter confidence in our elections.”

The bill also makes clear nothing would prohibit a probate judge from ordering audits of additional precincts or races beyond the minimum requirement.

Audits could be conducted by manual tally or with ballot counters, but the bill requires at least 30 randomly selected ballots to be manually examined and compared against the counter results when machines are used.

The bill now moves to the Alabama Senate on a fast track to final passage.