MONTGOMERY, Ala. — In November 2022, voters approved all 10 to the Alabama constitution. They did overwhelmingly approve a recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, allowing for the archaic and racist language in the document to be removed and outdated provisions and sections to be updated and edited.
Aside from the approval of a new constitution, Alabamians also approved all ten constitutional amendments on the 2022 US Midterm ballot related to broadband infrastructure, the state justice system, and other areas. Amendment explanations are from the Alabama Secretary of State's Office.
Constitution of Alabama of 2022
Results: 886,270 “Yes”, 272,384 “No”
Alabama’s voters will have the opportunity to vote on a reorganized state constitution at the November 8, 2022, general election. Alabama’s current constitution has been in effect since 1901. It contains outdated language and has been amended nearly 1,000 times. If approved, the reorganized state constitution will be titled the Constitution of Alabama of 2022.
In 2022, all members of the Legislature agreed to this proposed reorganized constitution and put it on the ballot for voters to consider. The Constitution of Alabama of 2022 will only do the following: (1) rearrange the constitution so that similar subjects are located together; (2) remove racist language; (3) delete repeated or repealed portions/language; (4) place all amendments which deal with economic development together; and (5) arrange local amendments by county. The reorganized constitution will make no changes other than those listed above and will not make any changes relating to taxes.
Amendment 1: “Aniah’s Law”
Result: 1,018,004 “Yes”, 246,919 “No”
“Proposing an amendment to Section 16 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section 16 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama 1901, as amended, to create Aniah's Law, to provide that an individual is entitled to reasonable bail prior to conviction, unless charged with capital murder, murder, kidnapping in the first degree, rape in the first degree, sodomy in the first degree, sexual torture, domestic violence in the first degree, human trafficking in the first degree, burglary in the first degree, arson in the first degree, robbery in the first degree, terrorism when the specified offense is a Class A felony other than murder, and aggravated child abuse of a child under the age of six
The law is named for Aniah Blanchard, a 19-year-old who was abducted and killed in 2019 outside a Chevron in Auburn. Ibrahim Yazeed, the individual charged in Blanchard’s abduction and murder, was out on bond for a previous gun-related crime.
Amendment 2: Broadband expansion
Result: 937,436 “Yes,” 255,874 “No”
"Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to authorize the state, a county, or a municipality to grant federal award funds or any other source of funding designated for broadband infrastructure by state law to public or private entities for providing or expanding broadband infrastructure.”
Amendment 3: Notification when commuting death sentences
Result: 991,893 “Yes”, 219,301 “No”
"Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to require the Governor to provide notice to the Attorney General and to the victim's family prior to granting a reprieve or commutation to a person sentenced to death, and to void the reprieve or commutation if the Governor fails to provide notice.”
No Alabama governor since Fob James has commuted a death sentence. James did so in the case of Judith Ann Neeley, who had been charged and sentenced to death in the murder of 13-year-old Lisa Ann Millican in the early 1980s.
Amendment 4: Concerning election laws
Result: 935,476 “Yes,” 234,452 “No”
"This amendment requires any bill passed by the state legislature during an election year which affects how a general election is held must take effect at least six months before the general election."
Amendment 5: “Orphans’ business”
Result: 778,586 “Yes,” 354,527 “No”
"Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to delete a provision giving the probate court of each county general jurisdiction over orphans' business.”
Amendment 6: Use of ad valorem taxes
Results: 674,971 “Yes”, 436,812 “No”
"This amendment provides that cities/towns already allowed to collect a special property tax may use those tax dollars to directly “pay-as-you-go” for construction projects instead of going into debt. If the majority of the voters vote “yes” on Amendment 6, “pay-as-you-go” will be allowed."
Amendment 7: Economic development for county governments
Result: 832,667 “Yes”, 271,467 “No”
“Proposing an amendment to revise Amendment 772 to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, to specify that all counties and municipalities may exercise the authority and powers granted by Amendment 772 to provide for economic and industrial development; to permit notice for Amendment 772 projects to be published in any newspaper in circulation in the county or municipality; and to ratify all actions and agreements of any county or municipality done under Amendment 772 unless subject to pending judicial proceedings on the date of adoption of this amendment.”
Amendment 8 and Amendment 9: Private sewer systems
Results: 685,048 “Yes”, 272,284 “No” for Amendment 8; 681,441 “Yes, 272,372 “No” for Amendment 9.
“Relating to Shelby County, proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to bring certain privately owned sewer systems that use public rights-of-way of public roads under the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission under certain conditions.”
"Relating to Jefferson County and Tuscaloosa County, proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to bring certain privately owned sewer systems that use public rights-of-way of public roads in the city limits of Lake View under the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission, beginning January 1, 2023 and ending December 31, 2027.”
Amendment 10: Amendments to the new recompiled Constitution
Results: 814,598 “Yes,” 278,284 “No”
"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.”