2022 Alabama Recompiled Constitution Ratification Question

Last updated
Recompiled Constitution Ratification Question
Flag of Alabama.svg
November 8, 2022
Ratify the Recompiled State Constitution
Results
Choice
Votes %
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svgYes888,45676.49%
Light brown x.svgNo273,04023.51%
Total votes1,161,496100.00%

2022 Alabama Constitution Ratification results map by county.svg
AL Question 2022.svg

Alabama Recompiled Constitution Ratification Question [1] was held to amend the Constitution of Alabama, replacing it with a more modern version drafted to achieve the following:

Contents

Background

Alabama's previous Constitution was established with the explicit purpose of establishing white supremacy in the state. [7] There had been three citizen efforts to strike down the racist and outdated language from the Constitution:

Amendment 4

Amendment 4
Flag of Alabama.svg
November 3, 2020
Authorize Legislature to Recompile the State Constitution Measure
Results
Choice
Votes %
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svgYes1,222,68266.82%
Light brown x.svgNo607,09033.18%

2020 Alabama Amendment 4 results map by county.svg

The referendum was preceded by a 2020 amendment that authorized the Alabama Legislature to draft a new version of the Constitution. Four sections were struck down from the document, including one that established school discrimination. [11]

The measure passed with a wide majority of more than two thirds of the votes. It got its strongest results in Macon and Greene counties, while performing the worst in Covington county.

Results by county

County
YesNo
VotesPer.VotesPer.
  Autauga 13,71563.28%7,95836.72%
  Baldwin 59,39467.75%28,27632.25%
  Barbour 4,97566.76%2,47733.24%
  Bibb 4,15954.95%3,41045.05%
  Blount 11,08951.76%10,33648.24%
  Bullock 2,25674.46%77425.54%
  Butler 4,14960.67%2,69039.33%
  Calhoun 26,41267.58%12,67332.42%
  Chambers 8,32470.49%3,48429.51%
  Cherokee 5,78162.52%3,46537.48%
  Chilton 7,89051.8%7,34148.2%
  Choctaw 2,84154.35%2,38645.65%
  Clarke 6,24665.36%3,31134.64%
  Clay 2,67251.62%2,50448.38%
  Cleburne 2,82756.07%2,21543.93%
  Coffee 11,21063.08%6,56236.92%
  Colbert 13,47462.4%8,12037.6%
  Conecuh 2,70563.95%1,52536.05%
  Coosa 2,39057.9%1,73842.1%
  Covington 6,08146.26%7,06353.74%
  Crenshaw 2,59354.53%2,16245.47%
  Cullman 17,36152.58%15,65547.42%
  Dale 10,00164.2%5,57835.8%
  Dallas 9,56672.48%3,63327.52%
  DeKalb 12,56457.81%9,16842.19%
  Elmore 19,51760.35%12,82439.65%
  Escambia 7,15565.32%3,79834.68%
  Etowah 22,49358.8%15,75941.2%
  Fayette 3,25351.11%3,11248.89%
  Franklin 5,41757.74%3,96442.26%
  Geneva 5,35054.47%4,47245.53%
  Greene 2,57975.81%82324.19%
  Hale 3,69464.24%2,05635.76%
  Henry 4,30263.55%2,46836.45%
  Houston 23,77766.07%12,21133.93%
  Jackson 10,48861.39%6,59638.61%
  Jefferson 196,44672.0%76,37828.0%
  Lamar 2,67650.46%2,62749.54%
  Lauderdale 21,26763.0%12,48937.0%
  Lawrence 7,02057.55%5,17942.45%
  Lee 43,31973.52%15,60226.48%
  Limestone 26,83668.84%12,14631.16%
  Lowndes 3,43173.5%1,23726.5%
  Macon 5,21076.87%1,56823.13%
  Madison 120,39075.73%38,58224.27%
  Marengo 4,77659.98%3,18740.02%
  Marion 5,45451.85%5,06548.15%
  Marshall 18,92461.68%11,75738.32%
  Mobile 97,86770.26%41,41929.74%
  Monroe 5,42865.12%2,90834.88%
  Montgomery 55,20571.77%21,71128.23%
  Morgan 26,68363.77%15,16236.23%
  Perry 2,40065.79%1,24834.21%
  Pickens 4,90366.06%2,51933.94%
  Pike 7,01167.0%3,45333.0%
  Randolph 4,91062.43%2,95537.57%
  Russell 11,92873.81%4,23226.19%
  Shelby 20,39957.12%15,31642.88%
  St. Clair 64,94468.63%29,68531.37%
  Sumter 2,49462.55%1,49337.45%
  Talladega 18,31465.65%9,58134.35%
  Tallapoosa 10,07164.32%5,58735.68%
  Tuscaloosa 50,34768.83%22,80131.17%
  Walker 13,60255.57%10,87744.43%
  Washington 4,06664.42%2,24635.58%
  Wilcox 3,36373.14%1,23526.86%
  Winston 4,29850.23%4,25849.77%

Results

The measure was broadly accepted, winning more than three fourths of the votes. It succeeded in every county of the state, performing the best in Macon and Madison counties. Conversely, it got its worst result in Choctaw county.

Ratify the Recompiled State Constitution
ChoiceVotes %
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svg Yes888,45676.49
No273,04023.51
Total votes1,161,496100.00

Results by county

County
YesNo
VotesPer.VotesPer.
  Autauga 10,46870.62%4,35629.38%
  Baldwin 45,26471.61%17,94328.39%
  Barbour 3,71075.1%1,23024.9%
  Bibb 3,09064.63%1,69135.37%
  Blount 8,80865.68%4,60334.32%
  Bullock 1,48679.13%39220.87%
  Butler 3,23370.74%1,33729.26%
  Calhoun 18,06075.24%5,94224.76%
  Chambers 5,57275.48%1,81024.52%
  Cherokee 4,21970.47%1,76829.53%
  Chilton 6,52264.43%3,60035.57%
  Choctaw 2,28558.95%1,59141.05%
  Clarke 4,80772.62%1,81227.38%
  Clay 2,06162.72%1,22537.28%
  Cleburne 2,21964.66%1,21335.34%
  Coffee 8,65775.85%2,75724.15%
  Colbert 10,23473.37%3,71526.63%
  Conecuh 2,36474.08%82725.92%
  Coosa 2,15269.92%92630.08%
  Covington 5,79869.08%2,59530.92%
  Crenshaw 2,32166.14%1,18833.86%
  Cullman 13,82466.24%7,04733.76%
  Dale 7,46375.43%2,43124.57%
  Dallas 6,80879.49%1,75720.51%
  DeKalb 8,91769.64%3,88830.36%
  Elmore 15,36871.24%6,20528.76%
  Escambia 5,26972.42%2,00727.58%
  Etowah 15,30073.43%5,53726.57%
  Fayette 2,82166.9%1,39633.1%
  Franklin 3,61165.12%1,93434.88%
  Geneva 4,24165.42%2,24234.58%
  Greene 1,46579.4%38020.6%
  Hale 2,79678.06%78621.94%
  Henry 3,91172.61%1,47527.39%
  Houston 17,03174.31%5,88825.69%
  Jackson 6,67869.18%2,97530.82%
  Jefferson 139,18481.45%31,68918.55%
  Lamar 2,22170.4%93429.6%
  Lauderdale 15,11974.48%5,18025.52%
  Lawrence 5,73366.53%2,88433.47%
  Lee 28,25982.43%6,02517.57%
  Limestone 20,18977.13%5,98522.87%
  Lowndes 2,24279.31%58520.69%
  Macon 3,74184.56%68315.44%
  Madison 88,35184.52%16,18615.48%
  Marengo 3,71071.25%1,49728.75%
  Marion 4,18666.28%2,13033.72%
  Marshall 14,27273.51%5,14226.49%
  Mobile 68,83478.06%19,34221.94%
  Monroe 4,00675.63%1,29124.37%
  Montgomery 40,39783.99%7,70316.01%
  Morgan 20,04577.45%5,83522.55%
  Perry 1,78781.45%40718.55%
  Pickens 3,87573.31%1,41126.69%
  Pike 4,79075.94%1,51824.06%
  Randolph 3,38767.6%1,62332.4%
  Russell 7,59480.86%1,79819.14%
  Shelby 48,63180.8%11,55619.2%
  St. Clair 16,29670.44%6,84029.56%
  Sumter 2,04380.21%50419.79%
  Talladega 13,17975.59%4,25524.41%
  Tallapoosa 7,69473.33%2,79826.67%
  Tuscaloosa 32,27577.6%9,31722.4%
  Walker 9,45764.87%5,12135.13%
  Washington 2,86860.79%1,85039.21%
  Wilcox 1,87374.12%65425.88%
  Winston 3,38564.93%1,82835.07%

Aftermath

The new Constitution became the seventh in Alabama's history, succeeding the documents adopted in 1819, 1861, 1865, 1868, 1875 and 1901. [12] [13] Alabama joined Utah, [14] Nebraska, Colorado, [15] Vermont, Tennessee and Oregon [16] in striking down slavery and involuntary servitude in their constitutions.

References

  1. "Alabama Recompiled Constitution Ratification Question". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  2. Glenn, John (9 November 2022). "Elections Alabama voters approve new constitution, 10 amendments on ballot". Alabama Political Reporter. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  3. Spencer, Thomas (26 October 2022). "A New Constitution Plus Additional Amendments on the Nov. 8 Ballot". Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  4. Andrew, Scottie (27 October 2020). "Alabama voters will decide whether to remove racist language about segregated schools and interracial marriage from the state constitution" . Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  5. Weiss, Debra (20 September 2021). "Alabama committee grapples with racism enshrined in state constitution as rewrite process begins" . Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  6. "Alabama Constitution of 2022 appears to be on its way to voters in November". AL.com. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  7. Mzezewa, Tairo. "Alabama Begins Removing Racist Language From Its Constitution". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  8. "Alabama faces recount over segregationist laws". CNN. 5 November 2004. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  9. Roig-Franzia, Manuel (28 November 2004). "Alabama vote opens old racial wounds". NBC News. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  10. "Alabama Segregation Reference Ban Amendment, Amendment 4 (2012)" . Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  11. "Alabama Constitution of 2022 appears to be on its way to voters in November". AL.com. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  12. "Alabama's Six Constitutions". Alabama Legislature. 19 September 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  13. Thompson, Megan (19 March 2022). "Racist language may soon be gone from Alabama's constitution" . Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  14. Tavss, Jeff (4 November 2020). "Utah to officially ban slavery after Amendment C passes". Fox13. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  15. Mercer, Marsha (22 August 2022). "Yes, Slavery Is on the Ballot in These States". Stateline. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  16. Alfonseca, Kiara (9 November 2022). "Slavery was on midterm ballots in several states, not all voted to get rid of it". ABC News. Retrieved 29 March 2024.