ALABAMA: State Prepares To Close 45 Of 49 DMV Offices, Shutting Out Poor Despite Strict Voter ID Law

Alabama is set to close 45 of its 49 driver’s license bureaus despite a strict voter ID law.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said budget cuts will result in closing driver’s license offices across the state. The agency said the cut will be in phases, with 33 offices closed during the first wave. In January 2016, a further 12 offices will close. By March, all but four offices in the entire state will shut their doors. The offices that will remain open, ALEA said, are Huntsville, Montgomery, Mobile, and Birmingham. “Unfortunately, what citizens can expect are longer lines, oftentimes scheduling way in advance to get an opportunity,” said ALEA Secretary Spencer Collier. “Probably the worst is that some… are going to have to travel a significant distance to be able to get that driver’s license service.”

Daily Kos analysis:

This will no doubt have a devastating effect on lower-income residents. Considering 18.7% of residents live at “poverty level” and another 8.4% at extreme poverty levels, it’s another blow that will surely leave more people behind. Can you imagine a single parent needing to take an entire day—or even two days—to travel to a driver’s license office and then wait all day for their turn to take the test? Perhaps most frightening about these closures is the effect it will have on voting in Alabama, where a conservative legislature passed a law in 2011 which requires a photo ID to vote. Alabama has already been on a steady decline (41% in November 2014) and these closures certainly won’t help to bring those numbers up. Intended or not, these office closures and the strict voter ID law will have an effect on government, policy and even safety (more people like to drive without a proper license) for a long time to come.