Alabama Amendment 1, Citizenship Requirement for Voting Measure (2020)

Alabama Amendment 1
Election date November 3, 2020
Topic Suffrage
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature
List of Alabama measuresAlabama Amendment 1Alabama Amendment 2Alabama Amendment 3Alabama Amendment 4Alabama Amendment 5Alabama Amendment 6Submit

Alabama Amendment 1, the Citizen Requirement for Voting Measure, was on the ballot in Alabama as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported amending the Alabama Constitution to state that “only a citizen” of the U.S. who is 18 years old or older can vote in Alabama.

A "no" vote opposed amending the Alabama Constitution, thus keeping the existing language that says “every citizen” of the U.S. who is 18 years old or older can vote in Alabama.

Election results

Alabama Amendment 1
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		1,535,862	77.01%
No		458,487	22.99%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did Amendment 1 change?

See also: Constitutional changes and ballot language

Amendment 1 amended the Alabama Constitution to state that "only a citizen of the United States," rather than "every citizen of the United States," who is 18 years old or older has the right to vote in Alabama.

How did this measure get on the ballot?

See also: Path to the ballot

Sen. Del Marsh (R-12) introduced the constitutional amendment as Senate Bill 313 (SB 313) during the 2019 legislative session. On May 8, 2019, the Alabama State Senate approved SB 313 in a vote of 27-0, with eight members (three Democrats and five Republicans) absent or not voting. On May 30, 2019, the state House passed the measure in a vote of 87-0, with 14 Democratic members abstaining and three members (two Democrats and one Republican) absent or not voting.

Were similar measures on the ballot in other states in 2020?

See also: Background

Similar measures—Florida Amendment 1 and the Colorado Amendment 76—were on the 2020 ballot in Florida and Colorado. Both measures were citizen initiatives supported by Citizen Voters, Inc. The Colorado measure was approved by a vote of 63% to 37%. The Florida measure was approved by a vote of 79% to 21%.

What do other state constitutions say about citizenship and voting?

See also: Background

All state constitutions mention United States citizenship when discussing who can vote in that state's elections. As of 2020, in 48 states, constitutional language discussing citizenship states who can vote (e.g. "every citizen" or "all citizens"), but does not state that non-citizens cannot vote. In Arizona and North Dakota, the states' constitutions provide that citizens, but not non-citizens, have the right to vote. In 1962, Arizona became the first state to pass a constitutional amendment stating that no person can vote unless the person is a U.S. citizen. The next state was North Dakota, which approved a constitutional amendment 56 years later in 2018. The measure amended the North Dakota Constitution to state that "only a citizen" rather than "every citizen" of the U.S. can vote in federal, state, and local elections. Measure 2 was approved by a vote of 66% to 34%.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to amend Article VIII of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section 177 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, to provide that only a citizen of the United States has the right to vote.

”

Ballot summary

The plain language summary provided by the state's Fair Ballot Commission was as follows:

“ The state constitution grants the right to vote to U.S. citizens who meet certain requirements. This amendment does not change those requirements. If a majority of voters vote “yes” for Amendment 1, the state constitution will grant the right to vote to “only” those U.S. citizens who meet the requirements. If a majority of voters vote “no” for Amendment 1, the state constitution will continue to grant the right to vote to “every” U.S. citizen who meets the requirements. There is no cost for Amendment 1. The Constitutional authority for passage of Amendment 1 is set forth in accordance with Sections 284, 285, and 287 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901. These sections outline the method a constitutional amendment may be put to the people of the State for a vote. ”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article VIII, Alabama Constitution

The measure amended subsection (a) of Section 177 of Article VIII of the Alabama Constitution as amended by Amendment 865. The following struck-through text would have been deleted and underlined text was added.

ARTICLE VIII. SUFFRAGE AND ELECTIONS.

(a) Every Only a citizen of the United States who has attained the age of eighteen years and has resided in this state and in a county thereof for the time provided by law, if registered as provided by law, shall have the right to vote in the county of his or her residence. The Legislature may prescribe reasonable and nondiscriminatory requirements as prerequisites to registration for voting. The Legislature shall, by statute, prescribe a procedure by which eligible citizens can register to vote.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2019

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary 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 26, and the FRE is -3. The word count for the ballot title is 50, and the estimated reading time is 13 seconds.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• Alabama State Senator Del Marsh (R)

Organizations

• Citizen Voters, Inc.

Arguments

• Joshua Jones of Citizen Voters: "Most people don’t realize cities around the country are already opening municipal elections to non-citizen voters. This constitutional amendment will ensure that trend never comes to Alabama. [The amendment's sponsors] are warriors for ballot security, the rule of law and ensuring voting remains a sacred and solemn duty of citizens only."

Opposition

If you are aware of any opponents or opposing arguments, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Arguments

• Chris Christie, guest columnist for the Alabama Political Reporter: "Perhaps the purpose of Amendment 1 could be to drive voter turnout of those who mistakenly fear non-citizens can vote. The only other purpose for Amendment 1 would be allowing future Alabama state legislation to disenfranchise groups of Alabama citizens whom a majority of the legislature does not want to vote. [...] Such a change would probably violate federal law. But Alabama has often had voting laws that violated federal law until a lawsuit forced the state of Alabama not to enforce the illegal state voting law. [...] Based on Amendment 1’s having no practical benefit and its opening many opportunities for mischief, all Alabama voters are strongly urged to vote 'no' on Amendment 1."

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Alabama ballot measures

Total campaign contributions:
Support:	$0.00
Opposition:	$0.00

Ballotpedia did not identify committees registered to support or oppose the amendment. If you are aware of a committee registered to support or oppose this measure, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

As of 2020, neither Alabama nor any of the state's local jurisdictions allowed non-citizens to vote in elections.

Non-citizen voting in the U.S.

In 1996, the U.S. Congress passed a law prohibiting non-citizens from voting in federal elections, such as U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and presidential elections. Federal law did not address state or local elections.

Examples of localities that allow non-citizen voting

Voters in San Francisco approved a measure, Proposition N, in 2016 which allowed non-citizens to register to vote in school board elections. New York City allowed non-citizens to vote in local school board elections from 1968 to 2003 until the city abolished elected school boards. As of 2019, 11 cities in Maryland, including Hyattsville, Mount Rainier, and Takoma Park allowed non-citizens to vote. Chicago has allowed noncitizens to vote and serve on its school councils since 1989.

Similar measures in other states

See also: Suffrage on the ballot

Amendments to change constitutional language to explicitly require voters to be U.S. citizens were on the 2020 ballot in Alabama, Colorado, and Florida. A similar initiative was proposed in Maine targeting the 2020 ballot, though the effort in Maine was suspended as of October 16, 2019, citing fundraising difficulties.

Voters in North Dakota decided on a similar measure, Measure 2, in 2018. The measure amended the North Dakota Constitution to state that “only a citizen” rather than "every citizen" of the U.S. can vote in federal, state, and local elections. Measure 2 was approved by a vote of 66% to 34%. Gary Emineth, Republican candidate for District 35 of the North Dakota State Senate, sponsored the initiative. Emineth was also the chairman of North Dakotans for Citizen Voting, the group that led the campaign in support of Measure 2. Citizen Voters, Inc. listed North Dakota as one of the group's successes.

Arizona approved an amendment in 1962 that required voters in all elections to be U.S. citizens.

Constitutional language by state: citizenship and suffrage

All state constitutions mention United States citizenship when discussing who can vote in that state's elections. In 48 states, constitutional language discussing citizenship states who can vote (e.g. "every citizen" or "all citizens"), but does not state that non-citizens cannot vote. In Arizona and North Dakota, the states' constitutions provide that citizens, but not non-citizens, have the right to vote.

The following table lists what each state's constitution says regarding citizenship and the right to vote. Click the arrow to browse pages in the chart or search for a state within the chart.

Election policy on the ballot in 2020

In 2020, voters in 14 states voted on 18 ballot measures addressing election-related policies. One of the measures addressed campaign finance, one were related to election dates, five addressed election systems, three addressed redistricting, five addressed suffrage, and three addressed term limits.

Click Show to read details about the election-related measures on statewide ballots in 2020.

Election-related policy ballot measures in 2020

Campaign finance See also: Campaign finance on the ballot a Oregon Measure 107: Measure 107 authorizes the state legislature and local governments to (1) enact laws or ordinances limiting campaign contributions and expenditures; (2) require disclosure of contributions and expenditures; and (3) require that political advertisements identify the people or entities that paid for them. Going into the election, Oregon was one of five states with no limits on campaign contributions. Election dates a New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 2: The amendment allowed the state legislature to pass laws adjusting the election dates of state or county officeholders and adjusting office terms according to those date changes. Under the measure, laws proposing adjustments to election dates of non-statewide officeholders must be supported by a legislative finding that such a change would promote consistency or that it would evenly distribute the number of offices appearing on the ballot. Election systems a Alaska Ballot Measure 2: Ballot Measure 2 replaced the state's partisan primaries with open top-four primaries for state executive, state legislative, and congressional offices and established ranked-choice voting for general elections, including the presidential election, in which voters would rank the candidates. Ballot Measure 2 also required persons and entities that contribute more than $2,000 that were themselves derived from donations, contributions, dues, or gifts to disclose the true sources, as defined in the law, of the political contributions. Colorado Proposition 113: In 2019, the Colorado State Legislature passed a bill to add Colorado to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC). NPVIC member states have agreed to give the state’s electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote, provided the NPVIC goes into effect. The NPVIC was designed to go into effect if states representing at least 270 electoral votes join the NPVIC. The campaign Protect Colorado's Vote filed a veto referendum to overturn the law, which resulted in Proposition 113. On November 3, voters upheld the law and voted in favor of adding Colorado to the NPVIC. d Florida Amendment 3: Amendment 3 would have replaced Florida's closed primaries with top-two open primaries for elected state offices. Under Amendment 3, all candidates would have run in the same primary election. The top-two candidates, regardless of their partisan affiliation, would have moved on to the general election under Amendment 3. d Massachusetts Question 2: Question 2 would have enacted ranked-choice voting (RCV) for primary and general elections for state executive officials, state legislators, federal congressional representatives, and certain county offices. As of 2020, statewide elections in Massachusetts used a plurality voting system. a Mississippi Ballot Measure 2: As of 2020, Mississippi required that a candidate for governor or elected state office receive the most votes in a majority of the state's 122 state House of Representatives districts (known as the electoral vote requirement). Ballot Measure 2 repealed this requirement. Instead, Ballot Measure 2 provided that a candidate for governor or state office must receive a majority vote to win and that a runoff election would be held between the two highest vote-getters in the event that no candidate receives a majority vote. Redistricting See also: Redistricting measures on the ballot a Missouri Amendment 3: In 2018, Missouri voters approved Amendment 1, the Lobbying, Campaign Finance, and Redistricting Initiative, which created the nonpartisan state demographer responsible for state legislative redistricting. Amendment 3 repealed the nonpartisan state demographer and returned the state to the use of bipartisan redistricting commissions, with changes to the number and selection of commissioners. The 2020 amendment also maintained the criteria of competitiveness and partisan fairness that was enacted in 2018, but it loosened the partisan fairness requirement and required that population, voter rights abridgment, contiguous districts, simple shapes, and the rules for counties be considered with a higher priority. a New Jersey Public Question 3: As of 2020, the New Jersey Constitution required the state legislative redistricting commission to pass a redistricting plan within a month of receiving the official census data. Question 3 postponed state legislative redistricting until after the election on November 2, 2021, should the state receive federal census data after February 15, 2021. The U.S. Census Bureau asked Congress to extend the deadline to deliver census data from April 1, 2021, to July 31, 2021, due to delays related to the coronavirus pandemic. a Virginia Question 1: Question 1 transferred the power to draw the state's congressional and legislative districts from the state legislature to a redistricting commission composed of state legislators and citizens. Going into 2020, the Virginia General Assembly was responsible for drawing the state's congressional and state legislative district boundaries. The redistricting plans were passed as legislation and subject to the governor's veto power. Suffrage See also: Suffrage on the ballot a Alabama Amendment 1: Amendment 1 amended the Alabama Constitution to state that "only a citizen of the United States," rather than "every citizen of the United States," who is 18 years old or older has the right to vote in Alabama. a California Proposition 17: Proposition 17 amended the state constitution to allow people with felonies who are on parole to vote; therefore, the ballot measure kept imprisonment as a disqualification for voting but removed parole status. Going into 2020, the California Constitution disqualified people with felonies from voting until the completion of their imprisonment and parole. d California Proposition 18: Proposition 18 would have allowed 17-year-olds who will be 18 at the time of the next general election to vote in primary elections and special elections. a Colorado Amendment 76: Amendment 76 amended the Colorado Constitution to state that “only a citizen”, instead of "every citizen", of the U.S. who is 18 years of age or older can vote in Colorado. Under the Colorado Votes Act, which went into effect in August 2019, individuals who are 17 years of age at the time of a primary election but who will be 18 years of age at the time of a general election were allowed to register to vote and vote in the primary election. According to the Colorado Blue Book, prevents 17-year-olds from voting. a Florida Amendment 1: Amendment 1 amended the Florida Constitution to state that “only a citizen” of the U.S. who is 18 years old or older can vote in Florida instead of saying that "every citizen" of the U.S. who is 18 years old or older can vote in Florida. Term limits and term lengths See also: Term limits on the ballot a Arkansas Issue 2: Issue 2 changed term limits of state legislators to twelve consecutive years with the opportunity to return after a four-year break. The 12-year limit applied to anyone elected in 2021 or after. Going into 2020, Arkansas legislators could serve up to 16 years throughout their lifetimes in the House or Senate. d Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 2: The amendment would have increased the office terms of commonwealth's attorneys from six years to eight years starting in 2030; increased the office terms of district judges from four years to eight years starting in 2022; and changed attorney licensing requirements for district judges from two years to eight years beginning in 2022. d Missouri Amendment 1: Amendment 1 would have limited the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, and attorney general to two terms of office in a lifetime. Going into 2020, the state constitution limited the governor and state treasurer to two terms of office in a lifetime but not the other executive offices.

Referred amendments on the ballot

From 1996 through 2018, the state legislature referred 95 constitutional amendments to the ballot. All but six of the amendments appeared on the ballot during even-numbered years. From 1998 to 2018, the number of measures on the statewide ballot during even-numbered years ranged from four to 15. Of the 89 measures that appeared on the ballot during even-numbered years, voters approved 81% (72 of 89) of the amendments and rejected the other 19% (17 of 89).

Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 1998-2018 (even-numbered years)
Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Annual average	Annual median	Annual minimum	Annual maximum
89	72	81%	17	19%	8	6	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.

Sen. Del Marsh (R-12) introduced the constitutional amendment as Senate Bill 313 (SB 313) during the 2019 legislative session. On May 8, 2019, the Alabama State Senate approved SB 313, with 27 members supporting the amendment and eight members not voting. On May 30, 2019, the state House passed the measure in a vote of 87-0 with 14 Democratic members abstaining and three members (two Democrats and one Republican) absent or not voting.

Vote in the Alabama State Senate May 8, 2019
Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 21  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	27	0	8
Total percent	77.14%	0.00%	22.86%
Democrat	5	0	3
Republican	22	0	5

Vote in the Alabama House of Representatives May 30, 2019
Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 63  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	87	0	17
Total percent	83.65%	0.00%	16.35%
Democrat	12	0	16
Republican	75	0	1

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

The information below covers regular voting policies in the state. Information may have not applied to the election on November 3, 2020, because of temporary changes in response to coronavirus. Click here to read about changes made for the 2020 elections. Poll times In 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." An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Registration requirements Check your voter registration status here. 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. Voters cannot register during the 14-day period preceding an election. According to the Alabama Secretary of State's website: “ You may download the State of Alabama Postcard Voter Registration Application from this site. The form can be printed on your printer, filled out, and then mailed into your local voter registration officials. Click here for more information. You may also request a postcard voter registration from this office by e-mail. Click here to request a voter registration form. Voter registration is also available from your local County Board of Registrars. Click here to get the address and phone number for the board of registrars office in your county. You may also obtain voter registration services at the following state and local government offices and agencies: Driver's licensing office County and select municipal public libraries Department of Human Resources WIC Program, Department of Public Health Medicaid Agency Department of Rehabilitation Services The postcard voter registration form is also available at: Public 4-year universities Select private 4-year universities Driver's licensing office County and select municipal public libraries Department of Human Resources WIC Program, Department of Public Health Medicaid Agency Department of Rehabilitation Services ” Automatic registration Alabama does not practice automatic voter registration. Online registration See also: Online voter registration Alabama has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. Same-day registration Alabama does not allow same-day voter registration. Residency requirements To 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 citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States An Alabama state law, passed in 2011, requires people to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. However, as of June 2025, the law had not been implemented. 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." 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. 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 registration The Alabama Secretary of State's Voter View website allows residents to check their voter registration status online. Voter ID requirements Alabama 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. “ Valid Alabama Driver’s License (not expired or has been expired less than 60 days) Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Digital Driver’s License Valid Alabama Nondriver ID (not expired or has been expired less than 60 days) Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Digital Nondriver ID Valid Alabama Photo Voter ID Card Valid State-Issued ID (Alabama or any other state) Examples Valid AL Department of Corrections Release - Temporary ID (Photo Required) Valid AL Movement/Booking Sheet from Prison/Jail System (Photo Required) Valid Pistol Permit (Photo Required) Valid Federal-Issued ID Valid US passport Valid Employee ID from Federal Government, State of Alabama, County, Municipality, Board, or other entity of this state Valid student or employee ID from a public or private college or university in the State of Alabama (including postgraduate technical or professional schools) Digital student ID from a public or private college or university in the State of Alabama (including postgraduate technical or professional schools) Valid student or employee ID issued by a state institution of higher learning in any other state Digital student ID issued by a state institution of higher learning in any other state Valid Military ID Valid Tribal ID ” 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.

See also

2020 measures

• 2020 ballot measures
• Suffrage on the ballot
• Elections and campaigns on the ballot

Alabama

• Alabama ballot measures
• Alabama ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Alabama Senate Bill 313 (2019)