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Alabama Reprieves and Commutations Amendment (2020)
| Alabama Reprieves and Commutations Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Civil and criminal trials | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Alabama Reprieves and Commutations Amendment was not on the ballot in Alabama as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020.
The ballot measure would have required the governor, before granting reprieves or commutations, to notify the attorney general and the victim's family; allows a victim's family to challenge a commutation or reprieve[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title would have been as follows:[1]
| “ |
Proposing an amendment to Amendment 38 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section 124 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, relating to the authority of the Governor to grant reprieves and commutations to persons under sentence of death; to require the Governor to take reasonable steps to provide notice to certain persons prior to granting a commutation to a person under a sentence of death; and to authorize certain persons to challenge the granting of a commutation upon a violation.[2] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article I, Alabama Constitution
The measure would have amended 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. Proncey Robertson (R-7) introduced the constitutional amendment as House Bill 178 (HB 178) during the 2019 legislative session. On May 23, 2019, the Alabama House of Representatives approved HB 178 in a vote of 100-0 with one Republican member abstaining and three members (two Democrats and one Republican) not voting or absent. 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 | 100 | 0 | 4 |
| Total percent | 96.15% | 0.00% | 3.85% |
| Democrat | 26 | 0 | 2 |
| Republican | 74 | 0 | 2 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Alabama State Legislature, "HB 178," 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 178 Overview," accessed May 29, 2019
 |
State of Alabama Montgomery (capital) |
|---|---|
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