BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama lawmakers have passed a bill prohibiting the use of foreign national driver’s licenses as voter identification, a move critics say is a solution in search of a problem and a reflection of growing nationalist sentiment.
Senate Bill 158, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, passed the House 82-13 and now awaits Gov. Kay Ivey’s signature. The law explicitly bars foreign national IDs from being accepted at the polls, although state law has never recognized them as valid voter identification.
Secretary of State Wes Allen, a Republican, celebrated the bill’s passage, calling it a step toward securing elections and preventing noncitizen voting. Allen said the law would “eliminate any confusion about what is and is not acceptable” at the polls.
Democrats, however, questioned the necessity of the legislation. “We don’t even have enough documentation to show where a foreign national would even try to register, let alone vote in the United States,” said Rep. Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, during debate. There are no public records of anyone ever voting in Alabama with a foreign driver’s license.
The bill’s passage comes as Western democracies have increasingly rejected hardline nationalism, warning that such policies can undermine pluralism and democratic norms. Critics argue that the Alabama law is political theater, designed to stoke fears of noncitizen voting without evidence and to reinforce exclusionary attitudes.
SB158 also creates new requirements for foreign nationals seeking Alabama driver’s licenses, mandating disclosure of country of origin and immigration documentation expiration dates.
With no documented cases of foreign driver’s licenses being used to vote in Alabama, opponents say the law is a waste of legislative time and resources, serving more to signal political priorities than to address real threats to election integrity.