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Alabama Amendment 1, Ten Commandments Amendment (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.
| Alabama Amendment 1 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Religion | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Alabama Ten Commandments Amendment, Amendment 1, 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 authorize the display of the Ten Commandments on public property, including public schools, and establish certain religious rights. The amendment also contained a provision preventing any public funds from being spent to defend the amendment in court. |
| A "no" vote opposes amending the state constitution to authorize the display of the Ten Commandments on public property, including public schools, and establish certain religious rights. |
Election results
|
Alabama Amendment 1 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
|
|
1,094,677 | 71.65% | ||
| No | 433,133 | 28.35% | ||
Measure design
Amendment 1 added language to the state constitution to authorize the display of the Ten Commandments on public property, including public schools. Amendment 1 required the Ten Commandments to be displayed, according to the measure, "in a manner that complies with constitutional requirements," including being mixed with historical or educational items. The measure prohibited the state from using public funds to defend the constitutionality of the amendment.[1]
Amendment 1 also added three statements about religious rights to the state constitution:[1]
- (1) "Every person shall be at liberty to worship God according to the dictates of his or her own conscience."
- (2) "No person shall be compelled to attend, or, against his or her consent, to contribute to the erection or support of any place of religious worship, or to pay tithes, taxes, or other rates for the support of any minister of the gospel."
- (3) "The civil and political rights, privileges, and capacities of no person shall be diminished or enlarged on account of his or her religious belief."
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title was as follows:[1]
| “ | Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, providing for certain religious rights and liberties; authorizing the display of the Ten Commandments on state property and property owned or administrated by a public school or public body; and prohibiting the expenditure of public funds in defense of the constitutionality of this amendment.[2] | ” |
Ballot summary
The plain language summary provided by the state's Fair Ballot Commission was as follows:[3]
|
Constitutional changes
- See also: Alabama Constitution
The measure added a new amendment to the Alabama Constitution. The following text was added:[1]
Every person shall be at liberty to worship God according to the dictates of his or her own conscience. No person shall be compelled to attend, or, against his or her consent, to contribute to the erection or support of any place of religious worship, or to pay tithes, taxes, or other rates for the support of any minister of the gospel. Property belonging to the state may be used to display the Ten Commandments, and the right of a public school and public body to display the Ten Commandments on property owned or administrated by a public school or public body in this state is not restrained or abridged. The civil and political rights, privileges, and capacities of no person shall be diminished or enlarged on account of his or her religious belief. No public funds may be expended in defense of the constitutionality of this amendment.
The Ten Commandments shall be displayed in a manner that complies with constitutional requirements, including, but not limited to, being intermingled with historical or educational items, or both, in a larger display within or on property owned or administrated by a public school or public body.[2]
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.
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 Ten Commandments Amendment PAC led the campaign in support of Amendment 1. Dean Young, former chief strategist for Roy Moore, was the chairperson of the committee.[4]
Arguments
- Dean Young said: "Do the people of Alabama want to acknowledge God, the God of the Old and New Testament, the Christian God? Do we want to acknowledge the God that our nation was founded upon? Alabamians will vote, they will reckon on that day with God how they vote on this, that's how serious this is. Either we stand for God or we won't."[5]
- Scott Dawson (R), a gubernatorial candidate in Alabama said, "We should have more faith in our communities, and the Ten Commandments has so shaped the foundation of our society, that it's a shame that we almost ban it. I'm willing to let it defend itself and have its place alongside our culture. I am a proponent of this amendment and I think it will pass overwhelmingly. We have to go back on the foundations of our country and understand there is a freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. The Ten Commandments are influential in everyday life."[6]
Opposition
Opponents
- Americans United for Separation of Church and State
- Alabama ACLU
Arguments
- Randall Marshall, executive director of the Alabama ACLU, said, “This is feel-good legislation that merely sets up entities to be sued if they display the Ten Commandments. The fact of the matter is, if the purpose of the display of the Ten Commandments is religious, it’s going to be unconstitutional.”[7]
- Bill Hightower (R), a gubernatorial candidate in Alabama said that he is "much more interested in the Ten Commandments being written on someone's heart, not on a wall. That's where the emphasis needs to be, frankly. They are the greatest groups of laws that have changed the course of history of mankind for a long time. There is no doubt on their impact to the world. But this law? I don't believe it will be a big issue for us. We can't defend it."[6]
- Americans United for Separation of Church and State legislative director, Maggie Garrett said: "The people of Alabama should know that displays like those envisioned by this Constitutional Amendment violate the U.S. Constitution. There will be challenges to the displays and that will cost the state money. Even if the state obtains free legal counsel to defend each display, the state will be on the hook for paying for the attorney's fees and the other party when it loses a Constitutional challenge."[6]
- Americans United for Separation of Church and State' spokesman Rob Boston said, "The Ten Commandments are a religious code of behavior that some, but not all, Americans accept. The proper place for them to be displayed is in our nation's houses of worship. [A Ten Commandments display inside a public venue creates] two classes of citizens: those who are accept and venerate the commandments are insiders whose views are embraced by the government. Everyone else is a second-class citizen."[8]
- Rep. Mary Moore (D-Birmingham) said the “best way this body could display the Ten Commandments is to live them. [The Legislature] can’t live the Ten Commandments. If we want it displayed like we display our fine china, I think that’s against the teachings of Jesus.”[9]
Campaign finance
| Total campaign contributions: | |
| Support: | $36,378.14 |
| Opposition: | $0.00 |
One committee—the Ten Commandments Amendment PAC—formed to support this amendment. Larry Dean Young, Jr., registered the committee and is the chairperson and treasurer of it. Young contributed $34,000 to the committee, which accounts for 93.5 percent of the $36,378 total contributions to the committee. The committee reported $36,112.83 in expenditures.[10]
Ballotpedia did not identify any committees registered to oppose the amendment.[11]
Support
The top donor in support of the initiative provided 93.5 percent of the total contributions to the support campaign.[12]
|
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Top donors
The top donors that had contributed more than $100 to the support campaign are listed below:
| Donor | Cash | In-kind | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dean Young | $34,000.00 | $0.00 | $34,000.00 |
| Mrs. Jamie Crockett | $200.00 | $0.00 | $200.00 |
| Tim Day | $200.00 | $0.00 | $200.00 |
| James Lowery | $102.56 | $0.00 | $102.56 |
| Leann Kittrell | $102.56 | $0.00 | $102.56 |
| J Hardwick | $102.56 | $0.00 | $102.56 |
| Susan Carroll | $102.56 | $0.00 | $102.56 |
Methodology
To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.
Media editorials
- See also: 2018 ballot measure media endorsements
Support
Ballotpedia did not identify any media editorials in support of Amendment 1. If you are aware of one, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Opposition
- The Anniston Star wrote: "Former state Chief Justice Roy Moore’s failed efforts to force-feed a Ten Commandments monument into Alabama’s public spaces proves the foolishness of this latest attempt to dismantle church-and-state barriers and allow these public displays. It’s unnecessary and against the American principle of religious equality.[13]
Background
Ten Commandments monument in Alabama
On August 1, 2001, Roy Moore, the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, ordered the construction and installation of a granite rock featuring the Ten Commandments in the state courthouse rotunda.[14] During the unveiling of the monument, Moore said, "This monument will serve to remind the appellate courts and judges of the circuit and district courts of this state, the members of the bar who appear before them, as well as the people who visit the Alabama Judicial Building, of the truth stated in the preamble of the Alabama Constitution, that in order to establish justice, we must invoke the favor and guidance of Almighty God."[15]
On October 30, 2001, the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and Southern Poverty Law Center filed suit with other groups in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, asking that the monument be removed because it "sends a message to all who enter the State Judicial Building that the government encourages and endorses the practice of religion in general and Judeo-Christianity in particular."[16][17]
On November 18, 2002, U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson issued a ruling declaring that the monument violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and was thus unconstitutional.[18]
Judge Thompson's decision mandated that Moore remove the monument from the state judicial building by January 3, 2003. This order was stayed on December 23, 2002, after Moore appealed the decision to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. On July 1, 2003, the panel issued a ruling upholding the lower court's decision. Judge Thompson lifted his earlier stay, requiring Moore to have the monument removed from public areas of the state judicial building by August 20, 2003.[19]
Moore refused to remove the monument.[20] The eight other members of the Alabama Supreme Court intervened on August 21, 2003, unanimously overruled Moore, and ordered the removal of the monument. Moore was also removed from supreme court. He was reelected to the supreme court in November 2012, however. Moore resigned on April 26, 2017, in order to run in the special election for U.S. Senate. Prior to his resignation, the Alabama Court of the Judiciary suspended him for the remainder of his term on September 30, 2016, based on ethics charges brought by the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission.[19][21][22]
Measures addressing religion in schools
From 1926 to 2024, voters decided on at least nine ballot measures related to religion in public schools in nine states: California (1926), North Dakota (1948), Maryland (1970), Florida (1972), Massachusetts (1972), Wisconsin (1972), West Virginia (1984), Missouri (2012), and Alabama (2018).
The following map illustrates where voters have decided on ballot measures related to religion in public schools:
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
In Alabama, a constitutional amendment must be passed by a 60 percent vote in each house of the state legislature during one legislative session.
2017 legislative session
Sen. Gerald Dial (R-13) introduced Senate Bill 139 (SB 139) during the 2017 legislative session. The Alabama Senate approved the amendment 23 to 7 with five senators not voting on May 11, 2017. The bill passed mostly along party lines, with Republicans supporting and Democrats opposing the bill. Sen. Billy Beasley (D-28) was the only Democrat to cast a yes vote. The amendment was scheduled for a floor vote in the Alabama House of Representatives on May 19, 2017, which was the final day of the 2017 legislative session. However, the chamber did not vote on the amendment before it adjourned.[23]
2018 legislative session
Sen. Gerald Dial (R-13) introduced the amendment again during the 2018 legislative session as Senate Bill 181 (SB 181). On February 27, 2018, the state Senate approved the amendment 23 to 3 with eight senators not voting. The bill passed mostly along party lines, with Republicans supporting and Democrats opposing the bill. Sen. Billy Beasley (D-28) was the only Democrat to cast a yes vote. On March 22, 2018, the state House approved the measure in a vote of 66 to 19, thereby certifying it for the ballot. In the House the amendment passed largely along partisan lines as well. Of the 70 Republicans in the House, 62 voted in favor of the amendment, and the other eight were absent or not voting. Four Democrats joined Republicans in voting for the amendment, 19 voted against the amendment, and nine were absent or not voting.[24]
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Alabama Legislature, "Senate Bill 181," accessed February 27, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 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 - ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "2017-2018 Statewide Constitutional Amendments: Ballot Statements," accessed July 31, 2018
- ↑ AlabamaVotes.gov, "TEN COMMANDMENTS AMENDMENT PAC committee detail," accessed April 16, 2018
- ↑ AL.com, "Alabama voters to decide abortion, Ten Commandments issues on Nov. 6," accessed April 28, 2018
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Alabama Local News, "Public displays of Ten Commandments divide candidates in Alabama governor's race," accessed April 16, 2018
- ↑ Times Daily, "2 constitutional amendments on ballot," accessed July 5, 2018
- ↑ Alabama News, "In Alabama's governor's race, candidates split on Ten Commandment displays," accessed September 13, 2018
- ↑ Montgomery Advertiser, "Ten Commandments amendment will go to Alabama voters," accessed May 6, 2018
- ↑ Alabama Electronic Fair Campaign Practices Act (FCPA) Reporting System, "Ten Commandments Amendment PAC," accessed September 5, 2018
- ↑ Alabama Electronic Fair Campaign Practices Act (FCPA) Reporting System, "PAC search," accessed September 5, 2018
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedfinance - ↑ The Anniston Star, "The choice for Alabama attorney general," accessed November 4, 2018
- ↑ The Atlantic, "Roy and His Rock," 2005
- ↑ WSMV, "Speech by Judge Roy Moore at Monument Dedication," accessed January 4, 2016
- ↑ Americans United for Separation of Church and State, "Rep. Istook To Reintroduce School Prayer Amendment To U.S. Constitution," accessed January 4, 2016
- ↑ United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, "Opinion: Glassroth v. Moore," July 1, 2003
- ↑ United States District Court of the United States for the Middle District of Alabama, "Glassroth v. Moore," August 5, 2003
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Supreme Court of Alabama, "Order No. 03-01," August 21, 2003
- ↑ Encyclopedia of Alabama, "Ten Commandments Monument Controversy," accessed May 19, 2017
- ↑ WSFA 12 News, "Short history of the battle over the Ten Commandments in Alabama," accessed January 6, 2016
- ↑ WBRC Fox 6 News, "AL Chief Justice Roy Moore reflects on Ten Commandments removal decade later," August 31, 2013
- ↑ Alabama Legislature, "SB 139 Overview," accessed May 11, 2017
- ↑ Alabama Legislature, "SB 181 Overview," accessed February 27, 2018
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