The Department of Justice announced Friday that it had settled litigation against Alabama over alleged violations of the National Voter Registration Act, also known as the Motor Voter law.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) and the Justice Department agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding outlining steps the state will take to come into compliance with the law, which requires states to give citizens seeking certain public services, including applying for driver’s licenses, the opportunity to register to vote.
Among other things, Alabama will have to integrate voter registration forms into its driver’s license applications, train public officials in voter registration protocols and set up an electronic system to process voter registrations for people seeking driver’s licenses.
“Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy,” said Vanita Gupta, the head of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, in a statement. “We commend the state of Alabama for working quickly and cooperatively with the department to ensure that eligible Alabama citizens can register to vote and update their registration information through motor vehicle agencies, with the convenience they deserve and the ease of access the law requires.”
The alleged NVRA violations were separate from the scrutiny the state — which has a strict photo voter ID law — received after closing 31 driver’s licenses offices, many in regions with high percentage of African-American populations.
The Department of Justice sent Alabama officials a letter in September threatening to sue the state over the NVRA violations.
Secretary of State John Merrill acknowledged last month the state was not in compliance with the law, which was passed in 1993.
“It’s like being pregnant,” Merrill told The Anniston Star. “Either you’re fully in compliance with the law or you’re not in compliance. And we’ve never been compliant.”
