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2022 Alabama Recompiled Constitution Ratification Question

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:

  • properly arrange the document;
  • remove the racist language, such a ban on interracial marriage[2] and school segregation;[3]
  • delete self-repeating and repealed provisions, including a section that limited suffrage to men;[4][5]
  • do away with slavery and involuntary servitude, even as a punishment for a crime;[6]
  • consolidate provisions concerning economic development;
  • arrange the local provisions based on the county of application.
Recompiled Constitution Ratification Question
November 8, 2022
Ratify the Recompiled State Constitution
Results
Choice
 Votes %
Yes 888,456 76.49%
No 273,040 23.51%
Total votes 1,161,496 100.00%

Background

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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of establishing white supremacy in the state.[7] There had been three citizen efforts to strike down the racist and outdated language from the Constitution:

  • 2000 Alabama Amendment 2, which aimed to remove a ban on interracial marriage. It was approved with almost 60% of the votes in favor;
  • 2004 Alabama Amendment 2, which sought to eliminate a requirement for segregated schools, as well as references to poll taxes. It was narrowly defeated with a margin of 1850 votes;[8][9]
  • 2012 Alabama Amendment 4, similar to the 2004 constitutional amendment. It was defeated with slightly more than 60% of the votes against.[10]

Amendment 4

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Amendment 4
 
November 3, 2020
Authorize Legislature to Recompile the State Constitution Measure
Results
Choice
 Votes %
  Yes 1,222,682 66.82%
  No 607,090 33.18%
 

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

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County
Yes No
Votes Per. Votes Per.
  Autauga 13,715 63.28% 7,958 36.72%
  Baldwin 59,394 67.75% 28,276 32.25%
  Barbour 4,975 66.76% 2,477 33.24%
  Bibb 4,159 54.95% 3,410 45.05%
  Blount 11,089 51.76% 10,336 48.24%
  Bullock 2,256 74.46% 774 25.54%
  Butler 4,149 60.67% 2,690 39.33%
  Calhoun 26,412 67.58% 12,673 32.42%
  Chambers 8,324 70.49% 3,484 29.51%
  Cherokee 5,781 62.52% 3,465 37.48%
  Chilton 7,890 51.8% 7,341 48.2%
  Choctaw 2,841 54.35% 2,386 45.65%
  Clarke 6,246 65.36% 3,311 34.64%
  Clay 2,672 51.62% 2,504 48.38%
  Cleburne 2,827 56.07% 2,215 43.93%
  Coffee 11,210 63.08% 6,562 36.92%
  Colbert 13,474 62.4% 8,120 37.6%
  Conecuh 2,705 63.95% 1,525 36.05%
  Coosa 2,390 57.9% 1,738 42.1%
  Covington 6,081 46.26% 7,063 53.74%
  Crenshaw 2,593 54.53% 2,162 45.47%
  Cullman 17,361 52.58% 15,655 47.42%
  Dale 10,001 64.2% 5,578 35.8%
  Dallas 9,566 72.48% 3,633 27.52%
  DeKalb 12,564 57.81% 9,168 42.19%
  Elmore 19,517 60.35% 12,824 39.65%
  Escambia 7,155 65.32% 3,798 34.68%
  Etowah 22,493 58.8% 15,759 41.2%
  Fayette 3,253 51.11% 3,112 48.89%
  Franklin 5,417 57.74% 3,964 42.26%
  Geneva 5,350 54.47% 4,472 45.53%
  Greene 2,579 75.81% 823 24.19%
  Hale 3,694 64.24% 2,056 35.76%
  Henry 4,302 63.55% 2,468 36.45%
  Houston 23,777 66.07% 12,211 33.93%
  Jackson 10,488 61.39% 6,596 38.61%
  Jefferson 196,446 72.0% 76,378 28.0%
  Lamar 2,676 50.46% 2,627 49.54%
  Lauderdale 21,267 63.0% 12,489 37.0%
  Lawrence 7,020 57.55% 5,179 42.45%
  Lee 43,319 73.52% 15,602 26.48%
  Limestone 26,836 68.84% 12,146 31.16%
  Lowndes 3,431 73.5% 1,237 26.5%
  Macon 5,210 76.87% 1,568 23.13%
  Madison 120,390 75.73% 38,582 24.27%
  Marengo 4,776 59.98% 3,187 40.02%
  Marion 5,454 51.85% 5,065 48.15%
  Marshall 18,924 61.68% 11,757 38.32%
  Mobile 97,867 70.26% 41,419 29.74%
  Monroe 5,428 65.12% 2,908 34.88%
  Montgomery 55,205 71.77% 21,711 28.23%
  Morgan 26,683 63.77% 15,162 36.23%
  Perry 2,400 65.79% 1,248 34.21%
  Pickens 4,903 66.06% 2,519 33.94%
  Pike 7,011 67.0% 3,453 33.0%
  Randolph 4,910 62.43% 2,955 37.57%
  Russell 11,928 73.81% 4,232 26.19%
  Shelby 20,399 57.12% 15,316 42.88%
  St. Clair 64,944 68.63% 29,685 31.37%
  Sumter 2,494 62.55% 1,493 37.45%
  Talladega 18,314 65.65% 9,581 34.35%
  Tallapoosa 10,071 64.32% 5,587 35.68%
  Tuscaloosa 50,347 68.83% 22,801 31.17%
  Walker 13,602 55.57% 10,877 44.43%
  Washington 4,066 64.42% 2,246 35.58%
  Wilcox 3,363 73.14% 1,235 26.86%
  Winston 4,298 50.23% 4,258 49.77%

Results

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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
Choice Votes %
  Yes 888,456 76.49
No 273,040 23.51
Total votes 1,161,496 100.00

Results by county

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County
Yes No
Votes Per. Votes Per.
  Autauga 10,468 70.62% 4,356 29.38%
  Baldwin 45,264 71.61% 17,943 28.39%
  Barbour 3,710 75.1% 1,230 24.9%
  Bibb 3,090 64.63% 1,691 35.37%
  Blount 8,808 65.68% 4,603 34.32%
  Bullock 1,486 79.13% 392 20.87%
  Butler 3,233 70.74% 1,337 29.26%
  Calhoun 18,060 75.24% 5,942 24.76%
  Chambers 5,572 75.48% 1,810 24.52%
  Cherokee 4,219 70.47% 1,768 29.53%
  Chilton 6,522 64.43% 3,600 35.57%
  Choctaw 2,285 58.95% 1,591 41.05%
  Clarke 4,807 72.62% 1,812 27.38%
  Clay 2,061 62.72% 1,225 37.28%
  Cleburne 2,219 64.66% 1,213 35.34%
  Coffee 8,657 75.85% 2,757 24.15%
  Colbert 10,234 73.37% 3,715 26.63%
  Conecuh 2,364 74.08% 827 25.92%
  Coosa 2,152 69.92% 926 30.08%
  Covington 5,798 69.08% 2,595 30.92%
  Crenshaw 2,321 66.14% 1,188 33.86%
  Cullman 13,824 66.24% 7,047 33.76%
  Dale 7,463 75.43% 2,431 24.57%
  Dallas 6,808 79.49% 1,757 20.51%
  DeKalb 8,917 69.64% 3,888 30.36%
  Elmore 15,368 71.24% 6,205 28.76%
  Escambia 5,269 72.42% 2,007 27.58%
  Etowah 15,300 73.43% 5,537 26.57%
  Fayette 2,821 66.9% 1,396 33.1%
  Franklin 3,611 65.12% 1,934 34.88%
  Geneva 4,241 65.42% 2,242 34.58%
  Greene 1,465 79.4% 380 20.6%
  Hale 2,796 78.06% 786 21.94%
  Henry 3,911 72.61% 1,475 27.39%
  Houston 17,031 74.31% 5,888 25.69%
  Jackson 6,678 69.18% 2,975 30.82%
  Jefferson 139,184 81.45% 31,689 18.55%
  Lamar 2,221 70.4% 934 29.6%
  Lauderdale 15,119 74.48% 5,180 25.52%
  Lawrence 5,733 66.53% 2,884 33.47%
  Lee 28,259 82.43% 6,025 17.57%
  Limestone 20,189 77.13% 5,985 22.87%
  Lowndes 2,242 79.31% 585 20.69%
  Macon 3,741 84.56% 683 15.44%
  Madison 88,351 84.52% 16,186 15.48%
  Marengo 3,710 71.25% 1,497 28.75%
  Marion 4,186 66.28% 2,130 33.72%
  Marshall 14,272 73.51% 5,142 26.49%
  Mobile 68,834 78.06% 19,342 21.94%
  Monroe 4,006 75.63% 1,291 24.37%
  Montgomery 40,397 83.99% 7,703 16.01%
  Morgan 20,045 77.45% 5,835 22.55%
  Perry 1,787 81.45% 407 18.55%
  Pickens 3,875 73.31% 1,411 26.69%
  Pike 4,790 75.94% 1,518 24.06%
  Randolph 3,387 67.6% 1,623 32.4%
  Russell 7,594 80.86% 1,798 19.14%
  Shelby 48,631 80.8% 11,556 19.2%
  St. Clair 16,296 70.44% 6,840 29.56%
  Sumter 2,043 80.21% 504 19.79%
  Talladega 13,179 75.59% 4,255 24.41%
  Tallapoosa 7,694 73.33% 2,798 26.67%
  Tuscaloosa 32,275 77.6% 9,317 22.4%
  Walker 9,457 64.87% 5,121 35.13%
  Washington 2,868 60.79% 1,850 39.21%
  Wilcox 1,873 74.12% 654 25.88%
  Winston 3,385 64.93% 1,828 35.07%

Aftermath

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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

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  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.
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