Code of Alabama - Title 17: Elections - Chapter 17 - Election Offenses

• Section 17-17-1 Arrest of electors attending, going to, or returning from elections
  An elector must not be arrested during attendance at elections, or while going to or returning therefrom, except for treason, felony, or breach of the...
• Section 17-17-2 Duty of sheriff to preserve order at elections
  Any sheriff or deputy who wilfully or corruptly fails to perform any duty imposed by Section 17-9-1 shall be guilty, upon conviction, of a Class...
• Section 17-17-3 Neglect of duties by election official
  Any election official who wilfully and knowingly neglects, fails, or refuses to perform any of the duties prescribed in this title, shall be guilty, upon...
• Section 17-17-4 Improper use of official authority or position for political activities
  Any person who attempts to use his or her official authority or position for the purpose of influencing the vote or political action of any...
• Section 17-17-5 Improper use of state property, time, etc., for political activities
  (a) No person in the employment of the State of Alabama, a county, a city, a local school board, or any other governmental agency, whether...
• Section 17-17-6 Penalty for failure to purge disqualified electors
  Any member of the board of registrars who neglects or willfully refuses to perform the duties imposed by Section 17-4-3 shall be guilty, upon conviction,...
• Section 17-17-7 Officers not to compare poll list with ballot
  Any inspector, clerk, watcher, or chair of an executive committee who compares the number on the poll list with the number of the ballot of...
• Section 17-17-8 Penalties for making false statements to board, etc
  Any person who willfully makes a false statement to the board of registrars, or any duly authorized person, in reidentifying himself or herself as a...
• Section 17-17-9 Penalties for violating the National Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act of 2002
  Any person who violates Article 3 of Chapter 4 shall be guilty, upon conviction, of a Class C misdemeanor.
• Section 17-17-10 Notice of ineligibility for appointing board; serving on board when ineligible
  Any judge of probate who shall fail to certify to the clerk of the circuit court the fact of the candidacy of the judge of...
• Section 17-17-11 Failure of inspector or clerk to attend election
  Any inspector or clerk appointed by the county appointing board who fails to attend an election without a lawful excuse shall be guilty, upon conviction,...
• Section 17-17-12 Consumption of intoxicating liquors during election
  Any election official or watcher who drinks any intoxicating liquor while any election is being held, shall be guilty, upon conviction, of a violation.
• Section 17-17-13 Suppressing nomination
  Any person who suppresses any nomination which has been duly filed pursuant to Section 17-9-3, shall be guilty, upon conviction, of a Class C felony.
• Section 17-17-14 Voting without registration and oath
  Any person voting at any county or state election who has not registered and taken and subscribed to the registration oath shall be guilty, upon...
• Section 17-17-15 Signing name of other person on poll list
  Any person who willfully and intentionally signs on the poll list the name of any person other than himself or herself, including any signing by...
• Section 17-17-16 Unlawful use of poll lists
  Any election officer or any other person who makes a copy of the signed voter poll list or any memoranda therefrom or list of the...
• Section 17-17-17 Loitering about polling place; standing in line of voters after having voted
  Any person who loiters in, around, or about a polling place on election day for the purpose of discouraging qualified electors from entering the voting...
• Section 17-17-18 Disclosing votes by inspectors, clerks, etc
  Any inspector, clerk, or other person who discloses how any elector voted shall be guilty, upon conviction, of a Class A misdemeanor.
• Section 17-17-19 Deceiving elector in preparation of ballot
  Any inspector, helper, or assistant who willfully deceives any elector in preparing his or her ballot shall be guilty, upon conviction, of a Class C
• Section 17-17-20 Inspector refusing to advise elector regarding assistants, or to allow selection thereof
  Any inspector who willfully fails or refuses to advise any elector, entitled thereto, that he or she is entitled to an assistant, or refuses to...
• Section 17-17-21 Disclosing or removing ballot; interfering with or influencing elector; remaining in booth, etc
  Any elector who takes or removes, or attempts to take or remove, any ballot from the polling place before the close of the polls; or...
• Section 17-17-22 Official refusing watcher to exercise rights
  An official who refuses to allow any poll watcher to exercise his or her rights as a watcher, shall be guilty, upon conviction, of a...
• Section 17-17-23 Tampering with, injuring, etc., machines; misuse; unauthorized possession of keys
  Any election officer or other person, who shall tamper with, injure, or attempt to injure any electronic voting machine to be used or being used...
• Section 17-17-24 Changing ballots, unlawful use of absentee ballots, etc.; investigative assistance; encouraging voter participation
  (a) Any person who willfully changes an absentee voter's ballot to the extent that it does not reflect the voter's true ballot, any person who...
• Section 17-17-25 Failure to perform duties as to absentee voting
  Any person who shall willfully fail or refuse to perform or discharge any duty required by Chapter 11 shall be guilty, upon conviction, of a
• Section 17-17-26 Preparation of absentee ballot of person in comatose or other noncommunicative state
  Any person who knowingly and willfully prepares or assists in preparing the absentee ballot of a person who is comatose or who otherwise cannot communicate...
• Section 17-17-27 Failure to count legal vote
  Except as to provisional absentee ballots that have not been verified by seven days after the election, any election official who fails to count a...
• Section 17-17-28 Failure to require proper identification; voting at multiple or unauthorized locations; liability of officials
  Any polling official who knowingly fails to require proper identification to verify the name of the prospective voter on the list of qualified voters at...
• Section 17-17-29 Violation of requirements for disposition of election records
  Any person violating any provision of Section 17-12-12 shall be deemed guilty, upon conviction, of a Class C misdemeanor.
• Section 17-17-30 Failure to provide notice in contested election
  Any sheriff or constable who fails to give the notices necessary to be served in cases of contested elections, within the time and in the...
• Section 17-17-31 Failure to provide notice under Section 17-15-5
  Any judge of probate who fails to give notice of a special election ordered by the Governor, as required by Section 17-15-5, is guilty, upon...
• Section 17-17-32 Failure to provide notice under Section 17-15-6
  Any judge of probate who fails to notify the sheriff and clerk of the circuit court that any special election is ordered by the Governor,...
• Section 17-17-33 Obstruction, intimidation, etc., of voting rights of others
  It shall be unlawful for any person to obstruct, intimidate, threaten, or coerce any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of...
• Section 17-17-34 Paying, etc., or accepting payment for vote
  It shall be unlawful for any person to pay or offer to pay, or for any person to accept such payment, either to vote or...
• Section 17-17-35 Violations of Fair Campaign Practices Act
  Repealed by Act 2013-311, §3, effective August 1, 2013.
• Section 17-17-36 Illegal voting or attempting to vote
  Any person who votes more than once at any election held in this state, or deposits more than one ballot for the same office as...
• Section 17-17-37 Illegal voting at municipal elections
  Any person who falsely impersonates another and thereby or otherwise fraudulently casts a vote to which he or she is not entitled, or having voted...
• Section 17-17-38 Bribing or attempting to influence voter
  Any person who, by bribery or offering to bribe, or by any other corrupt means, attempts to influence any elector in giving his or her...
• Section 17-17-39 Buying votes
  Any person who buys or offers to buy any vote of any qualified elector at any election by the payment of money or the promise...
• Section 17-17-40 Selling votes
  Any qualified elector at any election who takes or receives any money or other valuable thing, upon the condition that the same shall be paid...
• Section 17-17-41 Candidate barred by bribery
  Any candidate for office in any election, upon conviction of bribing or attempting to influence a voter under Section 17-17-38, shall, in addition to the...
• Section 17-17-42 Altering or changing vote of elector
  Any person who fraudulently alters or changes the vote of any elector, by which such elector is prevented from voting as intended, shall be guilty,...
• Section 17-17-43 Disturbing elector on election day
  Any person who, on election day, disturbs or prevents, or attempts to prevent, any elector from freely casting a ballot shall be guilty, upon conviction,...
• Section 17-17-44 Intimidation of employee by employer
  Any employer who attempts by coercion, intimidation, threats to discharge, or to lessen the remuneration of an employee, to influence his or her vote in...
• Section 17-17-45 Coercion of employee by officer, agent, etc., of corporation
  Any officer or agent of a corporation, or other person with authority to discharge employees, who shall attempt by coercion, intimidation, threats to discharge, or...
• Section 17-17-46 Providing false information to register to vote
  Any person who knowingly provides false information in order to vote or register to vote in violation of Act 2003-313 shall be guilty, upon conviction,...
• Section 17-17-47 Assessment of unauthorized fees against candidate
  Any person who, as a condition for standing for nomination to any office in a primary election, shall assess or cause to be assessed a...
• Section 17-17-48 Unauthorized assistance to voter in preparation of ballot
  Any person who assists a voter in preparing his or her ballot to be voted at a primary election, except as authorized under Chapter 13,...
• Section 17-17-49 Failure of returning office to return ballots and election supplies
  Any precinct returning officer failing to perform the duties of returning ballots and election supplies to the returning officer of the county shall be guilty,...
• Section 17-17-50 Holding, participating in, etc., illegal meetings for purpose of nominating candidates or selecting delegates to convention
  Any person or persons who shall hold, attend, or participate in the holding of any meeting for the purpose of nominating a candidate or candidates...
• Section 17-17-51 Intoxication at polling place
  Any person found drunk or intoxicated about any polling place during any primary election shall be guilty, upon conviction, of a violation.
• Section 17-17-52 False or fraudulent returns
  Any person who makes a false or fraudulent return of the result of any primary election, or who falsely or fraudulently changes the votes, ballots,...
• Section 17-17-53 Opening poll list
  Any person who opens any envelope containing the poll list of any voting place, except in case of a contest, shall be guilty, upon conviction,...
• Section 17-17-54 Failure to place candidate's name, etc., on ballot
  Any officer of the state or of any county or municipality whose duty it is by law to prepare and have printed ballots for any...
• Section 17-17-55 Unauthorized marking of ballot, electioneering, or divulging how elector voted
  Any person at a primary election who shall mark the ballot of a voter contrary to the voter's direction or request, or who shall electioneer...
• Section 17-17-56 Penalty for violation of Chapter 13
  Any person who violates any provision of Chapter 13 for which a penalty is not otherwise provided shall be guilty, upon conviction, of a Class...

Last modified: May 3, 2021