Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said he was pleased the state Senate passed SB1 on Tuesday and looks forward to the House approving the bill.

The law bans “ballot harvesting,” meaning third parties such as political operatives and campaign workers who collect and submit absentee or mail-in ballots in exchange for payment are subject to prosecution. .

The bill was introduced by state Sen. Garland Gudger (R-Cullman) and supported by Gov. Kay Ivey.

Allen praised the bill's progress Thursday on WVNN's “Yaffee Program.”

“It's been a good week so far, and I want to thank the Alabama Senate Republicans and Sen. Garland Gudger for getting SB1 out of the floor and on its way to the Alabama House of Representatives,” Allen said.

RELATED: Alabama Senate passes bill to outlaw ballot harvesting – 'Easy to vote, hard to cheat'

Allen believes the legislation will easily pass the Alabama House of Representatives in the coming weeks.

“We are very confident that this bill and bill will pass and be sent to Governor Ivey,” he continued. “And of course, we're talking about ballot collection and what we need to do to make the election process even more secure and what we need to do to make sure that the absentee process is protected. I want to thank her for that, because that's exactly what SB1 does.'' The absentee process is secure because many people use it. And we're very proud of the bill we got, and we look forward to its final passage in the House. ”

The secretary of state also responded to recent criticism the bill has received from Democrats, including Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, who called it “voter suppression.”

The AL has a long history of voter suppression.

People marched, shed blood, and died here for the right to vote.

– Voter registration should be automated.

– Any form of ID should be sufficient for voting.

– Helping people vote should not be a crime. pic.twitter.com/oq72KgBHXa

— Randall Woodfin (@randallwoodfin) February 14, 2024

“Listen, there is no such thing as voter suppression,” Allen insisted. “Point to that. Let me give you an example. There's no crackdown going on there. We use SB1 to make sure the absentee process is secure and to actually put it into practice. We’re protecting it for the people who use it.”

Mr. Allen also debunked some “myths” about the bill that he has heard from some of his opponents.

“They say we're trying to prevent disabled people from voting. We're not. They're saying we're trying to prevent veterans from voting. We're not. ” he explained. “In fact, we have language in this law that is the same as the federal code that protects people with disabilities.”

Yaffee is a contributor to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee