Lawsuit challenges Alabama restrictions on absentee ballot help

Civil rights organizations and other groups have filed a lawsuit challenging a new Alabama law that criminalizes types of assistance with absentee ballot applications. The Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, the League of Women Voters and other groups are plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed Thursday that says the law "turns civic and neighborly voter engagement into a serious crime.” The new law makes it illegal to return another person’s ballot application or distribute an absentee ballot application that is prefilled with information such as the voter’s name. It would become a felony to pay someone to distribute or collect applications.