Under current Alabama law, individuals who wish to vote by an absentee ballot must personally deliver their application to their county’s absentee election manager themselves, whether in person or by mail. However, a new bill prefiled for the 2026 Legislative Session could change that, allowing applicants with a disability to deliver their absentee ballot application through a designated third party.
House Bill 45, introduced by state Representative Adline Clarke, D-District 97, would allow individuals who either have a disability or who require emergency medical treatment within five days before an election to designate an individual to deliver their absentee ballot application on their behalf. Additionally, if such a voter’s absentee ballot request is granted, they would also be permitted to submit the completed absentee ballot itself through a designee in the same manner.
Clarke’s bill defines a disability as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of the applicant.”
Voters who do not meet that definition or who do not require emergency medical treatment within five days before an election would still be required to submit their own absentee ballot and/or absentee ballot application under Clarke’s bill.
Clarke touted the new legislation in a recent post to her Facebook page, urging her fellow state lawmakers to support the bill during next year’s legislative session.
“I have pre-filed a bill for the 2026 legislative session that proposes that disabled voters be allowed to designate someone to mail or hand-deliver their absentee ballot application and/or ballot to absentee election managers,” Clarke wrote. “It’s the right thing to do. Surely, my colleagues in the Alabama Legislature agree and will approve this legislation to make voting more accessible for disabled individuals.”
HB45 will be considered by the Alabama House Committee on Constitution, Campaigns and Elections once Alabama’s 2026 session begins on January 13, 2026.
