MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Senate Committee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development on Wednesday gave a favorable report as amended to HB 167, which is sponsored by Rep. Chris Blackshear (R-Phenix City) and would prohibit an individual from voting multiple times in a single election.

Senate Majority Leader Clay Scofield (R-Guntersville) is carrying the bill in the Senate and handled the measure in committee.

Committee members voted 9-1 to advance the bill; Sen. Vivian Figures (D-Mobile) was the lone “nay” vote and also the only Democrat in attendance. The amendment tacked onto the bill restored the penalty provision to be a Class C felony. A House floor amendment had changed the provision to a Class A misdemeanor.

Under current state law, it is already illegal to vote more than once in Alabama in the same election; however, it is not currently a violation of state law for someone to vote in the state of Alabama even if they have voted in another state in the same election, such as a presidential election. HB 167 would make it illegal to vote in multiple states, including Alabama, in the same election.

House Democrats were staunchly opposed to the measure on the floor in recent weeks.

During that debate, Blackshear said data has shown that at least six Alabamians voted in multiple states in the same election in 2018; data is not yet available from the 2020 election. The bill sponsor stressed that while six voters is a minuscule percentage of the ballots cast statewide, one instance of voter fraud is one too many for his liking.

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn