Alabama Amendment 3, Board of Trustees Membership for University of Alabama Amendment (2018)

Elections in Alabama, 2018

• General election: Nov. 6
• Voter registration deadline: Oct. 22
• Early voting: N/A
• Absentee voting deadline: Postmark Nov. 5

• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: No
• Voter ID: Photo ID required
• Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

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Alabama Amendment 3
Election date November 6, 2018
Topic Education
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature
List of Alabama measuresAlabama Amendment 1Alabama Amendment 2Alabama Amendment 3Alabama Amendment 4Submit

The Alabama Board of Trustees Membership for University of Alabama Amendment, Amendment 3, was on the ballot in Alabama as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.  It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported amending the state constitution to make the following changes to the membership of the board of trustees of the University of Alabama: remove the superintendent of education from the board; establish that, for the purposes of districts for the board of trustees membership, the congressional districts in use as of January 1, 2018, would be used; and remove the constitutional provision establishing an age limit of 70 for members of the board.

A "no" vote opposed amending the state constitution to make changes to the membership of the board of trustees of the University of Alabama, thereby leaving leaving the superintendent of education on the board and basing the board of trustees districts on congressional districts without freezing them as they were on January 1, 2018.

Election results

Alabama Amendment 3
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		835,707	60.30%
No		550,299	39.70%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

Measure design

Amendment 3 changed the state constitution to make the following changes to the membership of the board of trustees of the University of Alabama:

• remove the superintendent of education from the board;
• establish that, for the purposes of districts for the board of trustees membership, the congressional districts in use as of January 1, 2018, would be used; and
• remove the constitutional provision establishing an age limit of 70 for members of the board.

The provision limiting the age of members of the board to 70 was not in effect going into the election. The board of trustees voted to increase the age limit to 75 in 2017.

In 2016, voters approved a constitutional amendment to do away with any age limits for public officials, except judges, and prevent new age restrictions from being enacted.

How did this measure get on the ballot?

Amendment 3—Senate Bill 194 in the legislature—was sponsored in the Alabama Senate by Sen. J. T. Waggoner (R-16), Sen. Greg Reed (R-5), and Sen. Gerald Allen (R-21). It was approved by the Senate in a vote of 28 to zero on January 30, 2018.

On February 22, 2018, SB 194 was unanimously approved by the state House, with one member abstaining and one member not voting. Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-43)—the representative who did not cast a vote—officially stated that he had intended to cast a vote in favor of the amendment.

To put the legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a three-fifths (60 percent) supermajority vote was required in both the Alabama State Senate and the Alabama House of Representatives.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for the amendment was as follows:

“

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, relating to the Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama, to specify that the congressional districts from which members are appointed continue to reflect those as constituted on January 1, 2018, to remove the State Superintendent of Education from membership, and to delete the requirement that members vacate office at the annual meeting of the board following their seventieth birthday.

”

Ballot summary

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

“ Under current law, the University of Alabama Board of Trustees is composed of 16 people: three members from the congressional district in which the Tuscaloosa campus is located, two members from each of the other six congressional districts in the state, the Governor, and the State Superintendent of Education. So, if the number of congressional districts in Alabama increased or decreased in the future, the number of trustees would also increase or decrease. Additionally, other than the Governor and the State Superintendent of Education, current law requires a trustee to retire from the board following his or her seventieth birthday. Amendment 3 does three things. First, it provides that the board will be composed of members from congressional districts as those districts existed on January 1, 2018, meaning any future changes to the number of congressional districts in Alabama would not impact the number of board members. Second, it removes the State Superintendent of Education from automatically having a seat on the board. Third, it allows a trustee to serve after his or her seventieth birthday. If a majority of voters vote "Yes" on Amendment 3, future changes to the number of congressional districts in Alabama will not impact the number of board members, the State Superintendent of Education will no longer automatically be a member of the board, and trustees will be allowed to serve on the board after their seventieth birthday. If a majority of voters vote "No" on Amendment 3, future changes to the number of congressional districts in Alabama will impact the number of board members, the State Superintendent of Education will continue to automatically have a seat on the board, and trustees will not be allowed to serve on the board after their seventieth birthday. There is no cost for Amendment 3. The Constitutional authority for passage of Amendment 3 is set forth in Sections 284, 285 and 287 of the State Constitution. These sections outline the way a constitutional amendment may be put to the people of the State for a vote. ”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article XIV, Alabama Constitution

The measure amended Section 264 of Article XIV of the Alabama Constitution. The following underlined text was added, and struck-through text was deleted:

The state university shall be under the management and control of a board of trustees, which shall consist of two members from each congressional district in the state as constituted on January 1, 2018, an additional member from the congressional district which includes the site of the first campus of the university, the superintendent of education, and the governor, who shall be ex officio president of the board.

The members of the board of trustees as now constituted shall hold office until their respective terms expire under existing law, and until their successors shall be elected and confirmed as hereinafter required. The additional trustees provided for by this amendment shall be elected by the existing members of the board, and confirmed by the senate in the manner provided below, for initial terms of not more than six years established by the board so that one term shall expire each three years in each congressional district. Successors to the terms of the existing and additional trustees shall hold office for a term of six years, and shall not serve more than three consecutive full six-year terms on the board; provided however that a trustee shall retire from the board and vacate office at the annual meeting of the board following that trustee's seventieth birthday. Election of additional and successor trustees or of trustees to fill any vacancy created by the expiration of a term or by the death or resignation of any member or from any other cause shall be by the remaining members of the board by secret ballot; provided, that any trustee so elected shall hold office from the date of election until confirmation or rejection by the senate, and, if confirmed, until the expiration of the term for which elected, and until a successor is elected. At every meeting of the legislature the superintendent of education shall certify to the senate the names of all who shall have been so elected since the last session of the legislature, and the senate shall confirm or reject them, as it shall determine is for the best interest of the university. If it rejects the names of any members, it shall thereupon elect trustees in the stead of those rejected. No trustee shall receive any pay or emolument other than his actual expenses incurred in the discharge of his duties as such. Upon the vacation of office by a trustee, the board, if it desires, may bestow upon a trustee the honorary title of trustee emeritus, but such status shall confer no responsibilities, duties, rights, or privileges as such.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2018

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 34, and the FRE is -25. The word count for the ballot title is 68, and the estimated reading time is 18 seconds. The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 16, and the FRE is 31. The word count for the ballot summary is 327, and the estimated reading time is 1 minute and 27 seconds. In 2018, for the 167 statewide measures on the ballot, the average ballot title or question was written at a level appropriate for those with between 19 and 20 years of U.S. formal education (graduate school-level of education), according to the FKGL formula. Read Ballotpedia's entire 2018 ballot language readability report here.

Support

The amendment was sponsored in the Alabama Senate by Sen. J. T. Waggoner (R-16), Sen. Greg Reed (R-5), and Sen. Gerald Allen (R-21).

Arguments

• The Decatur Daily wrote, "State superintendents rarely attend meetings, and keeping the current number of trustees makes it easier for the university system's leadership to be representative of the state's population. This proposed amendment passed the state Legislature unanimously. The Daily recommends voting yes on Statewide Amendment No. 3."

Opposition

Arguments

• John Archibald, a columnist for Reckon by AL.com, wrote, "Granted, 70 ain’t what it used to be. But this amendment lets the self-appointing UA board – already one of the most powerful forces in the state – get what they want and answer to no one. Vote no."

Campaign finance

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

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Alabama ballot measures

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

Background

Congressional districts

See also: United States congressional delegations from Alabama

As of 2018, Alabama comprised seven congressional districts. The map below depicts Alabama's congressional district lines as drawn following the 2010 United States Census. Under the amendment, board members will continue to be elected from these congressional districts. The constitution states that three members must be elected from the 7th congressional district (where the Tuscaloosa campus is located) and two members would be elected from each of the remaining six districts.

Alabama's Congressional Districts

The University of Alabama System

The University of Alabama System includes:

• The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama;
• The University of Alabama in Birmingham; and
• The University of Alabama in Huntsville.

The Board of Trustees

Composition

As of June 2018, the Alabama Constitution provided that the Board of Trustees was to be composed of 17 members as follows:

• 15 elected members:
  • Three elected from the 7th congressional district, where the Tuscaloosa campus is located
  • Two members elected from each of the remaining six congressional districts
• Two Ex-officio (non-elected) members:
  • The Governor of Alabama
  • The Superintendent of Education

This amendment removed the superintendent as one of the board's members.

Function

According to the University of Alabama System, the Board of Trustees exists to:

• "ensure the effective leadership, management, and control over the activities of the three doctoral research universities in The University of Alabama System,"
• "provide for a definitive, orderly form of governance, and secure and continue responsive, progressive, and superior institutions of higher education," and
• "determine the major policies of the System, review existing policies; define the mission, role, and scope of each campus; and assume ultimate responsibility to the public and political bodies of Alabama."

Amendment 7 of 1982

See also: Article XIV, Alabama Constitution

The Alabama University of Alabama Trustees Amendment, or Amendment 7 was on the ballot in Alabama on March 2, 1982, as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. It was approved by a vote of 186,038 (60.44%) to 121,748 (39.56%). It proposed to amend the constitutional requirements with regard to the trustees of the University of Alabama. It stipulated the number of trustees, the manner of their election, the age of their retirement and the maximum number of consecutive terms of service.

Referred amendments on the ballot

From 1996 through 2016, the Alabama State Legislature referred 96 constitutional amendments to the ballot. Voters approved 75 and rejected 21 of the referred amendments. Most of the amendments (90 of 96) were referred to the ballot during even-numbered election years. The average number of amendments appearing on the ballot during an even-numbered election year was 8.5. The approval rate at the ballot box was 78.13 percent during the 20-year period from 1996 through 2016. The rejection rate was 21.87 percent.

Legislatively referred constitutional amendments, 1996-2016
Years	Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Annual average	Annual median	Annual minimum	Annual maximum
Even years	90	72	80.00%	18	20.00%	8.50	7.00	4	15
Odd years	6	3	50.00%	3	50.00%	0.60	0.00	0	3
All years	96	75	78.13%	21	21.87%	4.55	3.50	0	15

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Alabama Constitution

To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a three-fifths (60 percent) supermajority vote is required in both the Alabama State Senate and the Alabama House of Representatives.

This amendment—Senate Bill 194—was read for the first time in the Senate on January 18, 2018. It was approved by the Senate in a vote of 28-0—with one absent, five abstaining, and one vacancy—on January 30, 2018.

On February 22, 2018, SB 194 was unanimously approved by the state House, with one member abstaining and one member not voting. Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-43)—the representative who did not cast a vote—officially stated that he had intended to cast a vote in favor of the amendment. There were three vacancies in the House at the time of the vote.

Vote in the Alabama State Senate January 30, 2018
Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 21  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	28	0	6
Total percent	82.35%	0.00%	17.65%
Democrat	6	0	1
Republican	21	0	5
Independent	1	0	0

Vote in the Alabama House of Representatives February 22, 2018
Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 62  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	100	0	2
Total percent	98.04%	0.00%	1.96%
Democrat	31	0	1
Republican	69	0	1

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Alabama

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. One state, Ohio, requires proof of citizenship only when registering to vote at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles facility. 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 October 2025. 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.

Related measures

• Alabama Removal of Age Restriction for Government Officials, Amendment 13 (2016) a

See also

2018 measures

• 2018 ballot measures
• Education on the ballot
• Administration of government 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 194 - Text