The Alabama Senate is on the calendar. The first bill, from Rep. Alan Baker, R-Brewton, would push the time to mail in an absentee ballot applications from 5 days before an election to 10 days. Absentee applications could still be handed in 5 days before an election. #alpolitics

The bill also allows clerks to start counting absentee ballots at 7 a.m. on Election Day (it's currently noon, though Gov. Kay Ivey issued an order last year moving the time). #alpolitics

Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, says that Alabama elections went pretty well in November and is wondering why there are so many efforts to change the current laws. #alpolitics

Albritton: "We are sending a message that maybe we’re not as good as we thought we were. I am suggesting this effort to clean up things may be opening up great caverns that we don’t want to move into, or get tripped into." #alpolitics

Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greenboro, is offering an amendment that would move the 10-day deadline to apply for an absentee ballot to seven days. #alpolitics

Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, who is handling the bill, says he will take the amendment as a friendly one. #alpolitics

Senate adopts the Singleton amendment 21 to 9. Now Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, is up. #alpolitics

Smitherman says Alabama legislators need to focus on Alabama, and not what might be happening (or not happening) in other states. #alpolitics

Smitherman says "we don’t need a solution hoping we find a problem" and says the needs of citizens should take priority over any issues registrars may encounter. #alpolitics

The Alabama Senate approves the absentee voter application bill on a 25 to 5 vote. It goes back to the House for concurrence or a conference committee. #alpolitics

The Senate is now taking up a bill from Rep. Wes Allen, R-Troy, that would ban curbside voting. This would enshrine the Secretary of State's interpretation of the law in statute. His view was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2020/10/21/u-s-supreme-court-upholds-alabamas-curbside-voting-ban/3723309001/ #alpolitics

The bill passes a procedural motion on a 23 to 5 vote. #alpolitics

Sen. Dan Roberts, R-Mountain Brook: "The goal of this bill is to maintain security of election and ability of voters to cast a secret ballot. This ensures that locations designate at voting places are not manipulated." #alpolitics

Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham: "If you’ve got an election official person, and you’ve got all the poll watchers standing there, please tell me what’s unsecure about that." #alpolitics

Smitherman: "We’re trying to put impediments in front of people voting. It doesn’t have anything to do with D or R … I’m talking about voters – your voters, my voters. Why would we do something like this, to put an impediment?”

Roberts: "It’s the ballot integrity and security that we’re trying to address in this, senator." Smitherman says they could develop a security process and allow curbside voting. #alpolitics

Roberts moved to carry the bill over to the call of the chair (eg, temporarily delay it) but there was an objection. Roberts says he wants to work something out with Smitherman. #alpolitics

Smitherman says he is not trying to kill the bill. Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham is now up. "I want us to do everything we can to make the voting process open and more accessible." #alpolitics

Coleman-Madison: "Let us not disenfranchise a whole population of new people .. we don't want squish the new generation of voters coming after us." #alpolitics

Coleman-Madison also noting that curbside voting can help those with disabilities: "The longer we live, we're going to have disabilities we're going to have infirmities."

The curbside voting bill is carried over to the call of the chair. We could see it again today. #alpolitics

Now a bill from Rep. Chris Blacksher, R-Phenix City. As explained by Sen. Clay Scofield, R-Guntersville: "If you vote in the state of Alabama, and in the same election you vote in another state, that also is illegal." #alpolitics

Sen. Kirk Hatcher, D-Montgomery, is ripping into the bill. "In an instance where there are significant problems we have -- prison reform, we’re in the midst of pandemic, we have a subpar education system in the state of Alabama -- this kind of action to me is unconscionable."

Hatcher says he asked Blacksher how many instances of fraud could be found that would fit under this bill, and was told there were two. #alpolitics

Hatcher: "Do you really want to put additional pressures on local government ... simply because you have an incident of possibly, allegedly two incidents of voter fraud related to people voting in two states, which is already fraudulent?" #alpolitics

Singleton is up. "This bill, to me, doesn't do a whole lot our voting system," he said. But said he's concerns about people who move from one state to another being swept up in it. Scofield says he has an amendment to tighten the language. #alpolitics

Amendment is being offered. Scofield says this is the language to tighten the language. #alpolitics

Amendment is adopted. Senate is voting on final passage. #alpolitics

Alabama Senate approves bill banning voting in two states 27 to 4. Goes back to the House for concurrence or conference committee. #alpolitics

We're now on a bill from Rep. David Standridge, R-Hayden, that would require a one-time audit of the 2022 general election. It's handled by Sen. Billy Beasley, D-Clayton. #alpolitics

Singleton is back up repeating something we've heard from Democrats (and Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore): if the Secretary of State says last November's elections were secure and smooth, why is the Senate dealing with these bills? #alpolitics

The audit would take place in three counties around the state -- one in north Alabama, one in central Alabama and one in south Alabama. #alpolitics

The audit bill passes 21 to 6. Now a bill from Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, that would require all campaign finance reports to be filed electronically, and would require municipal candidates to file theirs with the Alabama Secretary of State. #alpolitics

This is being handled in the Senate by Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham. It passes a procedural motion 28 to 2. #alpolitics

Bill is getting an amendment on it. Another theme of today: all the bills so far have to go back to the House to get a vote. #alpolitics

And the bill passed 17 to 12. Now a bill from Rep. Jim Carns, R-Vestavia Hills, requiring the implementation date of any election-related bill to be six months before an election. #alpolitics

The Senate passes the six-month bill on a 25 to 4 vote. *That* bill should go to Gov. Kay Ivey. #alpolitics

Now a bill from Rep. David Wheeler, R-Vestavia Hills, to allow precinct workers registered to vote in a county to serve in any precinct there. Passes easily.

That finishes the calendar. They're doing some bills that have been at the call of the chair. #alpolitics