A number of election officials across Alabama remain confused about the impacts of a sweeping new felon disenfranchisement law, according to interviews this week with registrars representing 12 counties.

The new law, which took effect in August, clarified which felons are allowed to vote and what steps they need to take to restore that right.

But four registrars told AL.com this week that they were not entirely clear about the intricacies of the law and how it applies to their duties. And multiple nonprofits and advocates told AL.com last month that they were working with people who were being wrongly barred from regaining the right to vote because the law is not being properly and consistently followed.

Secretary of State John Merrill told AL.com last week that registrars in each of Alabama's 67 counties had been made aware of the new law and what they must do to follow it. Each county has a board of three appointed registrars who perform various duties that include handling felons' applications to register to vote.

Merrill said via email Wednesday that he told "nearly 150 registrars" about the law's impacts during a June 2 conference in Montgomery and that several smaller training sessions on the topic have been held in different parts of the state in recent months. He provided AL.com with copies of emails and flowcharts his office sent to registrars that clearly state what they must do to comply with the law.

Secretary of State John Merrill provided registrars with flowcharts outlining how they should handle attempts by felons to restore their right to vote. (Courtesy John Merrill)

Yet interviews this week with registrars representing 12 counties across Alabama reveal that confusion and lack of information appear to be keeping the law, dubbed the Definition of Moral Turpitude Act, from being implemented in a consistent manner.

The new law lists several dozen felonies considered "of moral turpitude," meaning, among other things, that anyone convicted of one of them automatically loses their voting rights.

Felons convicted of any but the most serious such crimes cannot regain the franchise until after they serve any prison term and period of supervision to which they have been sentenced, pay off any outstanding fines, fees and restitution, and undergo an application process.

Any person convicted of one of a short list of the most heinous crimes like murder and rape loses the right to vote again in Alabama without being pardoned by the state. Anyone convicted of impeachment or treason can never vote again.

Before the Definition of Moral Turpitude Act went into effect, registrars made their own determinations about whether a particular felony should be considered of moral turpitude. The new law clearly states that registrars are no longer allowed to make such determinations, and that only the several dozen felonies listed in the text of the law are to be considered crimes of moral turpitude.

Mary Ann Swann, chairwoman of the Henry County Board of Registrars, said that her board's members have continued to use their own discretion to decide what crimes are considered of moral turpitude.

"We're just now beginning to get into the system where we don't make that determination. We're going to be leaving that decision up to [the Alabama Board of] Pardons and Paroles," Swann said Tuesday. "We've made that decision in the past month - whether or not [a felony is of] moral turpitude."

Eight of the 12 registrars interviewed by telephone this week said that if a felon who has not been convicted of a crime considered moral turpitude comes to them seeking to restore their right to vote, they follow the new law and clear the way for them to do so.

"I had one today who had three [third-degree burglary] charges and three possessions of a controlled substance - lots of felonies. Previous to this new law, I think those were both disqualifying felonies," Leigh Reed, a registrar in Macon County, said.

"When that came up today we satisfied those convictions in the system and he was made active. He registered again."

But registrars from three other counties told AL.com that they were not entirely sure how the new law would apply in certain situations.

Many Alabama felons have only been convicted of crimes that a board of registrars had previously deemed of moral turpitude but are no longer considered such under the new law. They do not have to pay fines, fees and restitution to regain their right to vote, according to Merrill.

But Lisa Parker, a registrar in Geneva County, said Tuesday that no one had told her what to do if a felon with outstanding fines, fees or restitution attempts to register to vote.

"So far we haven't had anybody that had outstanding fees or whatever," she said. "It has not happened, as far as fees here."

June Ezell, a Choctaw County registrar, said she was similarly uninformed about what to do in such a situation.

"As far as if they need to pay fines, I don't really know anything about that," she said Tuesday.

Registrars representing 16 other counties either failed to answer calls to their official telephone numbers, did not return phone messages, or declined to comment.

Sam Brooke, deputy legal director at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said that Merrill needs to ensure that every registrar is adequately educated about the Definition of Moral Turpitude Act and that it is being enforced properly and consistently in every Alabama county.

"The secretary of state must also ensure that all county registrars and their staff across Alabama understand the new law, and that they do not turn away a single eligible voter," Brooke said via email Thursday.

"In order for our democracy to function well, everyone who is eligible to vote must be allowed to vote."

Merrill said via email Wednesday that his office is willing to take steps to ensure that registrars are following state election law.

"Our team has successfully sought the termination of several registrars and will do so again in the event that it is reported that any registrar is intentionally ignoring state law due to ignorance or lack of desire to enforce the law," he said.

"With that being said, it is difficult for me to understand how any registrar could maintain they were not properly informed on implementation of this law when the attached correspondence includes a simple flowchart which walks the registrars through the process line by line."

Eight of the twelve registrars who spoke with AL.com this week said they were well aware of the fact that they can no longer make their own determinations about whether a crime is of moral turpitude. They also said they knew that any felon who had only been convicted of a crime considered of moral turpitude before the new law went into effect, but that is not on the list of crimes of moral turpitude outlined in the law, is eligible to regain the franchise despite any outstanding financial obligations.

Laural Bunn, chairwoman of the Tuscaloosa County Board of Registrars, said her board follows the process as it is laid out in the new law.

"If they had a crime that is not of moral turpitude and they are eligible because they meet the other eligibility requirements - they're over 18, they're residents of Alabama, those types of things - then they can restore their voting rights," she said.

"We don't know anything about their fines, fees and restitution; that's not up to us."