Alabama Amendment 4, Legislative Vacancies 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.

---

On the ballot: U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • Secretary of State • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • Supreme court • Appellate courts • Local judges • State ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • Democratic primaries • Republican primaries

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

The Alabama Legislative Vacancies Amendment, Amendment 4, 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 establish the following: if a vacancy in the state Senate or House occurred on or after October 1 of the year before the regular election, the seat would remain vacant until the next regular election, and vacant seats could be filled without an election if only one candidate is running for the vacant seat.

A "no" vote opposed amending the state constitution with regard to filling legislative vacancies, leaving existing law in place requiring a special election to fill any vacancies.

Election results

Alabama Amendment 4
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		973,951	66.13%
No		498,918	33.87%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

Measure design

Amendment 4 established that if a vacancy in the state Senate or House occurred on or after October 1 of the year before the regular election, the vacancy would not be filled, and the seat would remain vacant until the regular election and that, if a vacancy occurred with a longer remaining term and there was only one uncontested candidate for the election to fill the vacancy, an election would not be held and the uncontested candidate would fill the vacancy.

What did the amendment change?

See also: Article IV, Alabama Constitution

Going into the election, under Article IV of the Alabama Constitution, the governor would "issue a writ of election" to call for a special election to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term. Under the amendment, vacancies in either house remain vacant until the next general election if within the timeframe set out.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of 7 Alabama of 1901, to provide that, if a vacancy in either the House of Representatives or the Senate occurs on or after October 1 of the third year of a quadrennium, the seat would remain vacant until a successor is elected at the next succeeding general election.

”

Ballot summary

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

“ Under current law, members of the state legislature are elected to four-year terms of office that begin and end on Election Day in November. This four-year period is known as a quadrennium. When a person who was elected to serve in the state legislature is unable to complete his or her term, a vacancy is created. When this vacancy occurs, the Governor is required to schedule a special election. The winner of the special election fills the vacancy for the rest of the term. Amendment 4 provides that when a vacancy occurs in the state legislature on or after October 1 of year three of the four-year term, the seat will remain vacant until the next general election, which occurs in November of the fourth year of the term. The Governor would no longer have the power to schedule a special election to fill a vacancy in these circumstances, and public funds that would have been spent on the special election would be saved. If a majority of voters vote "Yes" on Amendment 4, state legislative seats that become vacant within the final 14 months of the four-year term of office will remain vacant until the general election. If a majority of voters vote "No" on Amendment 4, the Governor will continue to be required to schedule a special election whenever a vacancy occurs in the state legislature. There is no cost for Amendment 4. The Constitutional authority for passage of Amendment 4 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 IV, Alabama Constitution

Amendment 4 repealed and replaced section 46 of Article IV of the state constitution: Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

Section 46: (a) Senators and representatives shall be elected by the qualified electors on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November unless the Legislature shall change the time of holding elections and in every fourth year thereafter. The terms of office of the senators and representatives shall commence on the day after the general election at which they are elected, and expire on the day after the general election held in the fourth year after their election, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution. At the general election in the year nineteen hundred and two all the representatives, together with the senators for the even numbered districts a fourth year thereafter, all the senators and representatives shall be elected.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (c), when a vacancy occurs in either house of the Legislature, the Governor shall issue a writ of election to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term. However, if the Secretary of State determines that a legally qualified candidate for election to the vacancy is unopposed when the last date for filing certificates of nomination has passed, the election shall not be held. The Secretary of State shall issue a certificate of election to the candidate, the same as if an election had been held, and the certificate shall be accepted by the house in which the vacancy occurred as evidence of the unopposed candidate's right to fill the position created by the vacancy. In the event an election is held, all the costs and expenses incurred thereby shall be paid out of any funds in the State Treasury not otherwise appropriated.

(c) When a vacancy occurs in either house of the Legislature on or after October quadrennium, the seat shall remain vacant until a successor is elected at the next succeeding general election.

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 25, and the FRE is 6. The word count for the ballot title is 52, and the estimated reading time is 13 seconds. The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 12, and the FRE is 50.5. The word count for the ballot summary is 270, and the estimated reading time is 1 minute and 12 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

• State Senator Rusty Glover (R) sponsored this bill in the Senate.

Arguments

• The Decatur Daily wrote, "Had this amendment been in force last year, voters in Alabama House District 4, which includes parts of Morgan and Limestone Counties, would not have had to vote four times - two party primaries and two general elections - in the span of a year for the House seat vacated when Rep. Micky Hammon was forced from office following a felony conviction. The Daily recommends voting yes on Statewide Amendment No. 4."

Opposition

Arguments

• John Archibald, a columnist for Reckon by AL.com, wrote, "Under this amendment, no special election would be set if the lawmaker splits in the last 14 months in office. Which seems to make sense. I mean, we don’t really need two elections in a year, particularly when the part-time legislature meets early in the year. But it also could potentially leave some districts without representation during that final session."

Campaign finance

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

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Alabama ballot measures

There were no ballot measure committees registered in support of or in opposition to Amendment 4.

Media editorials

See also: 2018 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

• The Anniston Star wrote: "We wholeheartedly agree that it is wise to hold open a seat in the state House or Senate should it become vacant on or after Oct. 1 of the year before the regular election. The Star recommends voting yes on Amendment 4."

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not identify any media editorials opposing Amendment 4. If you are aware of one, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

Section 46 of Article IV in the Alabama Constitution requires the governor to call for a special election to fill a vacancy in the legislature for the remainder of the term by issuing a writ of election.

How are vacancies filled in state legislatures?

The map below displays the different ways that vacancies are filled in state legislatures according to state law. State legislative vacancies can be filled through special elections, governor appointments, board of county commissioners appointments, political party appointments, legislative chamber appointments, or a type of hybrid system. All 50 states use one or more of these systems to fill legislative vacancies. Click on a state below to see the process for filling legislative vacancies in that state according to state law. The map also displays who holds the real power in filling legislative vacancies. For example, in the state of Utah, the state's constitution says that the governor is responsible for filling a legislative vacancy. However, the political party actually holds the real power in filling vacancies in the Utah State Legislature since the party recommends a successor to the governor and the governor then appoints the new member.

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 was read for the first time on January 9, 2018, as Senate Bill 15. When it was originally introduced, it was designed to allow the governor to appoint temporary legislators to fill any vacant seat with less than two years left in the term. It was amended to its current form. On March 1, 2018, the state Senate unanimously approved the amendment, with seven absent or not voting and one vacancy. On March 20, 2018, the state House voted 75-16, with three vacancies and 11 absent or not voting, to approve the amendment, certifying it for the November 2018 ballot. Fifteen Democrats and one Republican voted against the amendment.

Vote in the Alabama State Senate March 1, 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	27	0	7
Total percent	79.41%	0.00%	20.59%
Democrat	6	0	1
Republican	21	0	5
Independent	0	0	1

Vote in the Alabama House of Representatives March 20, 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	75	16	11
Total percent	73.53%	15.69%	10.78%
Democrat	11	15	6
Republican	64	1	5

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. 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

2018 measures

• 2018 ballot measures
• State legislatures measures 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

• Senate Bill 15