MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) -- Groups opposed to House Bill 194 gathered at St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church in Montgomery Tuesday, saying legislation like this is nothing new in Alabama.
The League of Women Voters is concerned the bill's criminal penalties for those who violate it will lead to fewer voters at the polls.
"You're going to start seeing a chilling effect on all sides. And that's the concern," Alabama League of Women Voters President Kathy Jones said.
The bill says that no state or local official responsible for conducting elections can accept private funding for election-related expenses.
Bill sponsor Rep. Wes Allen (R- Troy) says it would have no impact on voter education and outreach groups like the ones protesting today.
"If you're not a Secretary of State, if you're not a probate judge, if you're not an absentee election manager or board of registrar or poll worker or circuit clerk, this bill is not going to affect you at all," Allen said.
Allen says he brought the bill after the 2020 election, when Mark Zuckerberg gave grants to election officials in several states. He says private money should not be "intermingled" with public funding.
"We want to make sure that we put firewalls in Alabama to make sure private funding doesn't go into our elections process," Allen said.
Still -- the Alabama ACLU Executive Director JaTuane Bosby says bills like this are part of a long history of attempts to limit voting in the state.
"It is a direct attack on grassroots organizations who have been driving this work consistently. Driving this work. Getting people to the polls, focusing on voter education," Bosby said.
The second bill the group protested prevents paying someone to complete another voter's absentee ballot.
The House has not yet voted on either bill.
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