Alabama Bail Amendment (2020)
| Alabama Bail Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Civil and criminal trials | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Alabama Bail Amendment was not on the ballot in Alabama as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020.
The ballot measure would have amended the Alabama Constitution to provide that every person charged with a crime may be allowed bail unless they are charged with a Class A felony.[1]
The measure failed to pass in the legislature before the legislature adjourned its 2019 session.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title would have been as follows:[1]
| “ |
"Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to provide that all persons charged with a crime, before conviction, be allowed bail, unless the person is charged with a Class A felony offense listed in Chapter 6 or Title 13A, when the proof of guilt is evident or the presumption of guilt is great and to allow the denial of bail if no condition of release can reasonably protect the community from risk of physical harm to the accused, the public, or both, ensure the presence of the accused at trial.[2] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article I, Alabama Constitution
The measure would have amended Section 16 of Article I of the Alabama Constitution.[1]
The full text is available here.
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 282 (HB 282) during the 2019 legislative session. On May 21, 2019, the Alabama House of Representatives approved HB 282 in a vote of 92-3 with five members abstaining and four members not voting or not present. The measure failed to pass in the legislature before the legislature adjourned its 2019 session.[3]
| Vote in the Alabama House of Representatives | |||
| Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber | |||
Number of yes votes required: 63  | |||
| Yes | No | Not voting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 92 | 3 | 9 |
| Total percent | 87.62% | 2.86% | 8.57% |
| Democrat | 21 | 3 | 4 |
| Republican | 71 | 0 | 5 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Alabama State Legislature, "HB 282," accessed May 28, 2019
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Alabama State Legislature, "HB 282 Overview," accessed May 28, 2019
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State of Alabama Montgomery (capital) |
|---|---|
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