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Alabama Amendment 1, Allow Denial of Bail for Offenses Enumerated by State Legislature Amendment (2022)
| Alabama Amendment 1 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Civil and criminal trials | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
Alabama Amendment 1, the Allow Denial of Bail for Offenses Enumerated by State Legislature Amendment, was on the ballot in Alabama as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022. It was approved.
A "yes" vote supported authorizing the state legislature to enumerate in state law offenses for which bail may be denied (including murder, kidnapping, rape, assault, and more). |
A "no" vote opposed authorizing the state legislature to enumerate in state law offenses for which bail may be denied. |
Election results
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Alabama Amendment 1 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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1,020,464 | 80.48% | ||
| No | 247,554 | 19.52% | ||
Overview
What did amendment do?
Amendment 1 amended the Alabama Constitution to allow the Alabama State Legislature to deny bail to defendants in certain cases. The measure was referred to as Aniah's Law.[1]
The legislature also passed House Bill 130, which was set to take effect along with the amendment. HB 130 enumerates offenses for which bail may be denied by a court, including murder, kidnapping, rape, assault, and more. For individuals charged with listed offenses under the bill, bail can be denied "if the prosecuting attorney proves by clear and convincing evidence that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably ensure the defendant's appearance in court or protect the safety of the community or any person."[2]
How did this measure get on the ballot?
- See also: Path to the ballot
In Alabama, a constitutional amendment must be passed by a 60 percent vote in each house of the State Legislature during one legislative session.
Rep. Chip Brown (R) introduced the constitutional amendment during the 2021 legislative session. On February 23, 2021, the Alabama House of Representatives approved the amendment in a vote of 102-0 with two members absent or not voting. On April 6, 2021, the Alabama Senate unanimously approved an amended version of HB 131 by a vote of 30-0 with four senators voting pass. The House concurred with the Senate's amendments on April 15, 2021, by a vote of 92-0 with 11 members voting pass.[3]
Measure design
Going into the election, the Alabama Constitution provided that "all persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offenses, when the proof is evident or the presumption great; and that excessive bail shall not in any case be required."
The ballot measure amended the Alabama Constitution to allow the Alabama State Legislature to deny bail to defendants in certain cases. The measure was referred to as Aniah's Law.[1]
The legislature also passed House Bill 130, which was designed to take effect along with Amendment 1. House Bill 130 lists offenses for which bail may be denied by a court. Individuals charged with one of the listed offenses were set to have "no bail" indicated on their writ of arrest and were set to be held without bond until a pretrial detention hearing. The list of offenses provided in the bill are as follows:[4]
- murder;
- first-degree kidnapping;
- first-degree rape;
- first-degree sodomy;
- sexual torture;
- first-degree domestic violence;
- first-degree human trafficking;
- first-degree burglary;
- first-degree arson;
- first-degree robbery;
- terrorism; and
- aggravated child abuse.
For individuals charged with listed offenses under the bill, bail can be denied "if the prosecuting attorney proves by clear and convincing evidence that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably ensure the defendant's appearance in court or protect the safety of the community or any person." When a court considers whether there are conditions that would ensure a defendant's appearance in court and the safety of the community, it is required to consider the following:[4]
- the nature and circumstances of the charged offense;
- the evidence against the defendant;
- the defendant's "character, physical and mental condition, family ties, employment, financial resources, length of residence in the community, community ties, past conduct, history relating to drug or alcohol abuse, criminal history, and record concerning appearance at court proceedings, and, whether, at the time of the current offense, the defendant was on probation, parole, or on other release pending trial, sentencing, appeal, or completion of sentence for an offense"; and
- the danger to the community or any person if the defendant were released.
Rules governing the admissibility of evidence apply in pretrial detention hearings and all evidence is received and recorded by the court. The defendant's testimony is not admissible in any other criminal proceeding against the defendant.[4]
A judge must enter an order denying bail within 48 hours after the pretrial hearing. The judge must make a written statement of facts and findings and a statement of the reason bail was denied.[4]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title was as follows:[1][5]
| “ | Proposing an amendment to Section 16 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section 16 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama 1901, as amended, to create Aniah's Law, to provide that an individual is entitled to reasonable bail prior to conviction, unless charged with capital murder, murder, kidnapping in the first degree, rape in the first degree, sodomy in the first degree, sexual torture, domestic violence in the first degree, human trafficking in the first degree, burglary in the first degree, arson in the first degree, robbery in the first degree, terrorism when the specified offense is a Class A felony other than murder, and aggravated child abuse of a child under the age of six. (Proposed by Act 2021-201)
Yes ( ) No ( )[6] |
” |
Ballot summary
The Alabama Fair Ballot Commission wrote the following ballot statement:[7]
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Constitutional changes
- See also: Article I, Alabama Constitution
The measure amended Section 16 of Article I of the Alabama Constitution. The following struck-through text was deleted and underlined text was added.[1]
Section 16:
That all persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offenses, when the proof is evident or the presumption great unless charged with an offense enumerated by the Legislature by general law capital murder, as provided in Section 13A-5-40, Code of Alabama 1975, as amended; murder, as provided in Section 13A-6-2, Code of Alabama 1975, as amended; kidnapping in the first degree, as provided in Section 13A-6-43, Code of Alabama 1975, as amended; rape in the first degree, as provided in Section 13A-6-61, Code of Alabama 1975, as amended; sodomy in the first degree, as provided in Section 13A-6-63, Code of Alabama 1975, as amended; sexual torture, as provided in Section A-6-65.1, Code of Alabama 1975, as amended; domestic violence in the first degree, as provided in Section 13A-6-130, Code of Alabama 1975, as amended; human trafficking in the first degree, as provided in Section 13A-6-152, Code of Alabama 1975, as amended; burglary in the first degree, as provided in Section 13A-7-5, Code of Alabama 1975, as amended; arson in the first degree, as provided in Section 13A-7-41, Code of Alabama 1975, as amended; robbery in the first degree, as provided in Section 13A-8-41, Code of Alabama 1975, as amended; terrorism, as provided in subdivision (b)(2) of Section 13A-10-152, Code of Alabama 1975, as amended; and aggravated child abuse, as provided in subsection (b) of Section 26-15-3.1, Code of Alabama 1975, as amended; and that excessive bail shall not in any case be required.[6]
Readability score
- See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2022
Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure.
The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 51, and the FRE is -63. The word count for the ballot title is 118.
Support
Supporters
Officials
- State Rep. Chip Brown (R)
- Auburn Mayor Ron Anders
- Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle (R)
- Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling
- Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato
- Madison Mayor Paul Finley
- Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox (D)
- Montgomery Mayor Steven L. Reed (Nonpartisan)
- Dothan Mayor Mark Saliba
- Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson
- Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin (Nonpartisan)
Arguments
Opposition
If you are aware of opponents or opposing arguments concerning this ballot measure, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
| Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Oppose | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Ballotpedia has not identified political action committees registered to support or oppose this measure. If you are aware of one, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.
Background
Death of Aniah Blanchard
The measure is referred to as Aniah's Law. Aniah Blanchard of Homewood, Alabama, was reported missing on October 23, 2019. A month later, Macon County officers reported her cause of death to be a gunshot wound. Ibraheem Yazeed was arrested and charged with kidnapping and murdering Blanchard. At the time of Blanchard's death, Yazeed had been charged with attempted murder, possession of marijuana, two counts of kidnapping, and two counts of robbery, but was released on $295,000 bond. Aniah's mother, Angela Hailey-Harris, said she would advocate for bail-system reform in Alabama. Harris said, "My mission now is to save the world that is how I feel. I know I can’t save the world, but I’m gonna try. Aniah’s Law is one of the most amazing things. Our state needs it so bad. It will keep violent offenders from being out on the street out on bond."[8][9][10]
Bail system in Alabama
When a defendant is charged with a crime and not yet convicted, an amount of money (a specific range tied to specific crimes), referred to as a bond, may be paid so that the individual may be released until their court date. The Alabama Constitution provides that "all persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offenses, when the proof is evident or the presumption great; and that excessive bail shall not in any case be required." Individuals charged with a felony or misdemeanor cannot be held in jail for longer than 24 hours without an order of bail unless bail is not authorized for the offense.[4]
Recommended bail amounts in Alabama
The following table shows the recommended bail schedule in Alabama, although courts are able to set bail higher or lower in some cases.[11]
Constitutional amendments in Alabama
From 2000 to 2020, 81 constitutional amendments appeared on the statewide ballot in Alabama. Voters approved 64 (79.0%) and rejected 17 (21.0%). The number of amendments on statewide ballots during the even-numbered years between 2000 and 2020 ranged from 4 to 15, and the average number of amendments during this period was 7.8.
| Alabama constitutional amendments, 2000-2020 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number | Approved | Approved (%) | Defeated | Defeated (%) | Even-year average | Even-year median | Even-year minimum | Even-year maximum | ||
| 81 | 64 | 79.01% | 17 | 20.99% | 7.8 | 6.0 | 4 | 15 | ||
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Alabama Constitution
In Alabama, a 60 percent vote is needed in each chamber of the Alabama State Legislature to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot for voter consideration.
Rep. Chip Brown (R-105) introduced the constitutional amendment as House Bill 131 (HB 131) during the 2021 legislative session. On February 23, 2021, the Alabama House of Representatives approved HB 131 in a vote of 102-0 with two members absent or not voting.[3]
On April 6, 2021, the Alabama Senate unanimously approved an amended version of HB 131 by a vote of 30-0 with four senators voting pass. The House concurred with the Senate's amendments on April 15, 2021, by a vote of 92-0 with 11 members voting pass.[3]
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How to cast a vote
- See also: Voting in Alabama
Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in Alabama.
| How to cast a vote in Alabama | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Poll timesIn Alabama, polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. According to state law, "All polling places in areas operating on eastern time shall open and close under this section pursuant to eastern time except the county commissions in Chambers County and Lee County may by resolution provide for any polling place to be excluded from this sentence and to be open according to central time."[12] An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.[13] Registration requirements
Alabama requires that an applicant be a citizen of the United States who resides in Alabama. A voter must be at least 18 years old on or before Election Day. A citizen cannot have been barred from registering due to a felony conviction and cannot have been declared mentally incompetent by a court.[14] Voters cannot register during the 14-day period preceding an election. According to the Alabama Secretary of State's website:[14]
Automatic registrationAlabama does not practice automatic voter registration. Online registration
Alabama has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. Same-day registrationAlabama does not allow same-day voter registration. Residency requirementsTo register to vote in Alabama, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible. Verification of citizenshipAn Alabama state law, passed in 2011, requires people to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote.[15] However, as of June 2025, the law had not been implemented.[16] In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot require proof of citizenship with federal registration forms. That meant states would need to create a separate registration system for state elections in order to require proof of citizenship. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill (R) said the following: "That’s an election administration nightmare ... You’d have to have two sets of poll books, one for federal elections and one for state elections, and that just doesn’t make any sense to me."[17] An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury. All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment.[18] Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters. Verifying your registrationThe Alabama Secretary of State's Voter View website allows residents to check their voter registration status online. Voter ID requirementsAlabama requires voters to present photo identification at the polls. The following list of accepted forms of identification was current as of September 2024. Click here for the most current information, sourced directly from the Office of the Alabama Secretary of State.
A voter can obtain a free identification card from the Alabama Secretary of State, a county registrar's office, or a mobile location. The mobile location schedule can be accessed here. Voters must also provide a copy of valid photo identification when applying for an absentee ballot, with the exception of 1) voters for whom polling locations are inaccessible due to age or disability, and 2) overseas military members.[19][20] | ||||||
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Alabama State Legislature, "HB 131," accessed February 23, 2021
- ↑ LegiScan, "Alabama House Bill 130," accessed February 23, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Alabama State Legislature, "House Bill 131 Overview," accessed February 23, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 LegiScan, "Alabama House Bill 130," accessed February 23, 2021
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "November 2022 general election sample ballot," accessed September 24, 2022
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "Ballot Statement," accessed August 25, 2022
- ↑ USA Today, "Who is Ibraheem Yazeed? Aniah Blanchard kidnapping suspect has arrests in several states," accessed May 11, 2021
- ↑ USA Today, "Remains confirmed to belong to UFC fighter's stepdaughter Aniah Blanchard," accessed May 11, 2021
- ↑ WBRC, "‘I’m glad she was mine’: Aniah Blanchard’s mother remembers her angel a year after she was kidnapped," accessed May 11, 2021
- ↑ Alabama State Judiciary, "Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure," accessed April 18, 2022
- ↑ Justia, "Alabama Code § 17-9-6," accessed July 20, 2024
- ↑ NAACP Legal Defense Fund, "Alabama Voter Information," accessed July 20, 2024
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Alabama Secretary of State, "Voter Registration General Information," accessed July 20, 2024
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "Election Laws, Section 31-13-28," accessed March 1, 2023
- ↑ Phone conversation between Amée LaTour and Jeff Elrod, supervisor of voter registration with the Alabama Secretary of State office.
- ↑ Pew Trusts, "'Proof of Citizenship' Voting Laws May Surge Under Trump," November 16, 2017
- ↑ Under federal law, the national mail voter registration application (a version of which is in use in all states with voter registration systems) requires applicants to indicate that they are U.S. citizens in order to complete an application to vote in state or federal elections, but does not require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the application "may require only the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and permit State officials both to determine the eligibility of the applicant to vote and to administer the voting process."
- ↑ Justia, "Alabama Code § 17-10-1," accessed July 22, 2024
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "Absentee Voting Information," accessed July 22, 2024
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