25-03-2025
Alabama House approves bill mandating post-election audits
Rep. Debbie Wood, R-Valley, speaking on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives in the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Alabama, on March 18, 2025. Wood's bill mandating election audits passed the chamber along party lines except for three Republicans that voted against it. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector)
The Alabama House of Representatives last week passed a bill mandating election audits, mostly along party lines.
HB 30, sponsored by Rep. Debbie Wood, R-Valley, requires local probate judges to conduct a post-election audit after every countywide and statewide general election to verify accuracy. One race from the entire election, selected at random, will be audited.
Wood said the legislation is not for recounts but to ensure the electronic machines that count votes are working properly. Wood said Alabama is one of nine states that do not audit elections.
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'Imposed election audits ensure public confidence in the election process,' Wood said on the House floor. 'Audits increase transparency and demonstrate that elections are fair and accurate.'
The legislation passed 63-30 with seven abstentions and three Republicans voting 'no.' Rep. Van Smith, R-Clanton, said in an interview last week after a committee meeting that he voted against it because his county's probate judge was worried about compliance.
'I wasn't against the audit, but I was concerned about the workforce needed to do it,' Smith said.
The legislation requires the audited race to be recounted by a machine, except for 30 ballots that must be verified by hand.
Democrats pushed back on the legislation saying that it gives the impression that Alabama has voter fraud.
'You don't have to do an audit to have integrity,' Rep. Thomas Jackson, D-Thomasville, said.
Rep. Reed Ingram, R-Matthews, offered an amendment that requires election volunteers to oversee the audits.
'That way both parties can have a say,' he said.
Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, said the state ranked high on an election integrity ranking by the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing organization that developed Project 2025, a plan to advance conservative policies through the executive branch.
'I am for an audit,' she said. 'I just don't see the rationale for this one.'
The bill now goes to the Senate.
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