CENTER WANTS STATE TO EDUCATION VOTERS ABOUT NEW VOTING LAW

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – A voting rights group is asking a federal judge to force Alabama to tell people that they could be eligible to vote after previously being disqualified for a felony conviction.

U.S. District Judge W. Keith Watkins set a July 25 hearing Wednesday on the Campaign Legal Center’s injunction request.

The group asked Watkins to require the state to implement an education campaign after lawmakers approved legislation clarifying which felonies cause a person to lose voting rights.

It is unclear how many people are impacted by the new law. The center estimates it could restore voting rights to “thousands of eligible voters.”

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill supported the legislation. Lawyers for the state wrote in a court filing that the law is being rolled out in a deliberate fashion.