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Alabama Amendment 10, Incorporate Voter-Approved Amendments in New State Constitution Measure (2022)
| Alabama Amendment 10 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Constitutional language | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
Alabama Amendment 10, the Incorporate Voter-Approved Amendments in New State Constitution Measure, 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 Code Commissioner to incorporate voter-approved constitutional amendments at the May 24 and November 8 elections into the new state constitution if the ratification question is also approved. |
A "no" vote opposed authorizing the Code Commissioner to incorporate voter-approved constitutional amendments at the May 24 and November 8 elections into the new state constitution if the ratification question is approved. |
Election results
|
Alabama Amendment 10 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
|
|
816,634 | 74.54% | ||
| No | 278,984 | 25.46% | ||
Overview
What did this amendment do?
Approval of this measure provided for adding voter-approved amendments appearing on the May 24 and November 8 ballot into the new state constitution after the new state constitution was ratified by voters at the November 8 election. Since the amendments on the ballot were written to amend the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, approval of this amendment was required to incorporate them into the updated Constitution of Alabama of 2022 after its ratification by voters.[1]
The measure applied to the following proposed 2022 constitutional amendments:[1]
- Authorize $85 Million in Bonds for Public Historical Sites and State Parks Amendment;
- Remove Orphans' Business from Probate Court Jurisdiction Amendment;
- Allow Denial of Bail for Offenses Enumerated by State Legislature Amendment;
- Prohibit Changes to Election Conduct Laws within Six Months of General Elections Amendment;
- Notice to Victim's Family Required for Commutation or Reprieve of Death Sentences Amendment;
- County and Municipality Economic and Industrial Development Financing Amendment; and
- Authorize Certain Cities to Use Special Property Tax Revenue to Pay for Capital Improvements Directly Amendment.[1]
The amendment also provided that any court decision relating to any provision of the Alabama Constitution of 1901 would remain valid and any case annotations would be noted with the relevant provision in the Constitution of Alabama of 2022 if the section had not been substantively changed in the updated constitution.
What did approval of the ratification question change about the Alabama Constitution?
This constitutional amendment was contingent upon approval of the ratification question, which was also on the November 2022 ballot. The ratification questions asked voters whether or not to ratify an updated and recompiled state constitution, the Alabama Constitution of 2022. The updated and recompiled constitution was drafted by the State Legislature following voter approval of Amendment 4 in 2020. Amendment 4 authorized the Alabama State Legislature—during the 2022 regular state legislative session—to recompile the Alabama Constitution and provide for its ratification.[2]
Changes to the constitution were set to include:
- arranging it in proper articles, parts, and sections;
- removing all racist language (such as Section 256 of Article XIV, Alabama Constitution, which stated, "Separate schools shall be provided for white and colored children, and no child of either race shall be permitted to attend a school of the other race");
- deleting duplicative and repealed provisions;
- consolidating provisions regarding economic development; and
- arranging all local amendments by county of application.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title was as follows:[1][3]
| “ | Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to authorize the Code Commissioner, contingent upon the ratification of an official Constitution of Alabama of 2022, to renumber and place constitutional amendments ratified before or on the same day as the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, based on a logical sequence and the particular subject or topic of the amendment, and to provide for the transfer of existing annotations to any section of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to the section as it is numbered or renumbered in the Constitution of Alabama of 2022. (Proposed by Act 2022-177)
No ( )[4] |
” |
Ballot summary
The Alabama Fair Ballot Commission wrote the following ballot statement:[5]
|
Constitutional changes
- See also: Alabama Constitution
The measure amended the Alabama Constitution. The following underlined text was added:[1] Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.
Contingent upon the ratification of the Constitution of Alabama of 2022:
(a) The Code Commissioner shall number and place any constitutional amendment ratified on the date of ratification of this amendment as appropriate in the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, based upon a logical sequence and the particular subject or topic of the amendment.
(b)(1) Any judicial decision interpreting a provision of the Alabama Constitution of 1901, shall remain valid as to the appropriate provision in the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, that has not been substantively changed by the Constitution of Alabama of 2022. Any case annotation to any section of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, compiled and published prior to the ratification of this amendment shall apply to the section as it is numbered or renumbered in the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, as authorized by Amendment 951.
(2) The Code Commissioner shall instruct the publisher of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to transfer, organize, and otherwise arrange annotations to the same or renumbered sections of the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, except to the extent substantively changed.[4]
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 43, and the FRE is -48. The word count for the ballot title is 91.
Support
Supporters and supporting arguments for ratifying the proposed updated and recompiled state constitution may be found here.
Supporters
Officials
- State Rep. Merika Coleman (D)
- State Rep. Anthony Daniels (D)
- State Rep. Barbara Drummond (D)
- State Rep. Danny Garrett (R)
- State Rep. Mac McCutcheon (R)
- State Rep. Ben Robbins (R)
Opposition
Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure.
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
Amendment 4 of 2020
Amendment 4 was on the 2020 ballot in Alabama and approved by a vote of 67% to 33%. Amendment 4 authorized the Alabama State Legislature to recompile the state constitution during the 2022 state legislative session and provide for its ratification.[6]
Authorized changes to the constitution included:[6]
- arranging it in proper articles, parts, and sections;
- removing all racist language;
- deleting duplicative and repealed provisions;
- consolidating provisions regarding economic development; and
- arranging all local amendments by county of application.
Amendment 4 of 2020 was introduced as House Bill 328 by Rep. Merika Coleman (D-57) on April 3, 2019. On April 25, 2019, the House passed the amendment unanimously (101-0) with three representatives (two Republicans and one Democrat) absent or not voting. The measure was amended and passed in the Senate unanimously (30-0) with five senators (three Republicans and two Democrats) absent or not voting. On May 23, 2019, the House approved the bill unanimously (97-0) with seven representatives (four Republicans and three Democrats) absent or not voting.[6]
Speaking about the motivation behind Amendment 4, legislative sponsor Merika Coleman said, "We’ve gotten a lot of very bad national attention lately. If this amendment passes, it would send a message to the nation that we are no longer the Alabama of 1901. We are the Alabama that condemns the spirit of discrimination with which this constitution was actually developed."[7]
The following sections that appeared in the Constitution of Alabama of 1901 were removed:[8]
- Section 32 of Article I: "That no form of slavery shall exist in this state; and there shall not be any involuntary servitude, otherwise than for the punishment of crime, of which the party shall have been duly convicted."
- Section 102 of Article IV: "The Legislature shall never pass any law to authorize or legalize any marriage between any white person and a Negro, or descendant of a negro."
- Section 256 of Article XIV: "Separate schools shall be provided for white and colored children, and no child of either race shall be permitted to attend a school of the other race" and "To avoid confusion and disorder and to promote effective and economical planning for education, the legislature may authorize the parents or guardians of minors, who desire that such minors shall attend schools provided for their own race, to make election to that end, such election to be effective for such period and to such extent as the legislature may provide."
- Section 259 of Article XIV: "All poll taxes collected in this state shall be applied to the support and furtherance of education in the respective counties where collected."
The Alabama Constitution
Alabama had six constitutions prior to the Alabama Constitution of 2022, the first of which was adopted in 1819. Other constitutions included those from the years 1861, 1865, 1868, 1875, and 1901.
Amending the Alabama Constitution
Article XVIII of the Alabama Constitution includes provisions regarding how the state constitution may be amended. If three-fifths of the Alabama state legislators approve a proposed constitutional amendment, it is put on the ballot where voters must approve it by a simple majority. If both chambers of the state legislature agree by a simple majority vote, then a ballot question about whether to have a statewide constitutional convention can be placed on the ballot; if that question is approved by a majority of those voting in that election, then a constitutional convention will be called.[9]
According to law professor Susan Pace Hamill—in an article on the Encyclopedia of Alabama—the Alabama state constitution is the longest constitution in the world.[10] The constitution had been, as of 2021, amended 977 times since 1901. Many of the amendments are local amendments affecting a single county but are located in the state constitution.
Local amendments in the Alabama Constitution
Prior to the passage of Amendment 3 of 2016, local constitutional amendments were voted on by the entire state of Alabama, unless a three-fifths vote of the legislature and a unanimous vote of a constitutional amendment commission determined that the amendment strictly affected or applied to only one county or jurisdiction. Thus, statewide electors often voted on issues that primarily, but not entirely, affected other counties or jurisdictions. After the passage of Amendment 3, local constitutional amendments appear before only the voters in that particular jurisdiction. Amendments to the Alabama Constitution are tacked on at the end and arranged by numbers, not counties. This constitutional amendment authorized the legislature to recompile the constitution organizing the local amendments by county.
Other state constitutions
- See also: State constitution
The average length of a state constitution is about 39,000 words (compared to 7,591 words for the U.S. Constitution including its amendments). The longest state governing document is that of Alabama, which has approximately 389,000 words. It is also the most amended state constitution in the United States, with 977 amendments going into the 2022 election. The average state constitution has been amended about 115 times. The oldest state constitution still in effect is that of Massachusetts, which took effect in 1780. Prior to 2022, the newest was the Rhode Island Constitution, which was ratified by voters in 1986 after a constitutional convention was held which proposed deleting superseded language and reorganizing the state's 1843 Constitution. The Georgia Constitution is the next youngest and was ratified in 1983.[11][12]
The following map shows the number of state constitutions each state has had and the year that the state's current constitution was adopted.
Constitutional amendments in Alabama, 2000-2020
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
To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a 60 percent vote is required in both the Alabama State Senate and the Alabama House of Representatives.
The amendment was introduced as House Bill 319 on February 9, 2022. It was passed in the House by a vote of 101-0 with two members absent on February 24, 2022. It was passed in the Senate on March 17, 2022, by a vote of 26-0 with nine members absent. The amendment is contingent upon voter approval of the ratification question that was referred to the 2022 ballot.[13]
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How to cast a vote
- See also: Voting in Alabama
See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Alabama.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 LegiScan, "Alabama House Bill 319 (2022)," accessed March 29, 2022
- ↑ Alabama State Legislature, "House Joint Resolution 52," accessed February 25, 2022
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "November 2022 general election sample ballot," accessed September 24, 2022
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 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
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Alabama Legislature, "House Bill 328," accessed April 26, 2019
- ↑ EJI.org, "Alabama Voters Pass Amendment 4 to Address Constitution’s Legacy of Racial Injustice," accessed February 28, 2022
- ↑ AL.com, "Alabama Constitution of 2022 appears to be on its way to voters in November," accessed March 31, 202
- ↑ Alabama Legislature, "An overview of Alabama's six constitutions," accessed June 7, 2019
- ↑ Encyclopedia of Alabama, "Constitutional Reform," accessed June 7, 2019
- ↑ The Green Papers, "The Green Papers: Constitutions of the Several states," accessed June 1, 2012
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Your State's Constitution - The People's Document," accessed June 22, 2019
- ↑ LegiScan, "Alabama House Bill 319," accessed March 22, 2022
- ↑ Justia, "Alabama Code § 17-9-6," accessed July 20, 2024
- ↑ NAACP Legal Defense Fund, "Alabama Voter Information," accessed July 20, 2024
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 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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