Title 17 — Title 17

Containers; Electronic Voting Specialists. (a) The voted ballot containers and records of election containers shall remain sealed for the time provided by law for the filing of contests and then shall have the seal broken only on the order of that body which, under the general pr…

Requests for Reimbursement. (a) As used in this chapter, the term “expenses” shall include the following items and any other items approved as reimbursable expenses by the Election Expense Reimbursement Committee pursuant to Section 17-16-2.1: (1) The compensation and mileage pro…

Reimbursement Committee. (a) There is hereby established an Election Expense Reimbursement Committee designated to identify any election costs not included in Section 17-16-2, which costs shall be included as a reimbursable election expense under this chapter. The committee shall…

(a) When, in a general election, the election returns for any public office, including a judicial office, reflect that a candidate is defeated or any ballot statewide measure is defeated by not more than one half of one percent of the votes cast for the office, or the ballot meas…

(a) Any person with standing to contest the election under Sections 17-16-40 and 17-16-47 may petition the canvassing authority for a recount of any or all precinct returns. The time period for requesting a recount begins with the production of the certificate of result and ends …

and County Offices. Except as provided in Section 17-8-12, the State of Alabama shall reimburse a county for one half of all sums expended by the county in payment of expenses incurred in holding and conducting an election in which candidates for both federal or state and county …

Offices. The State of Alabama shall reimburse a county for all sums expended by the county in payment of expenses as provided for in Sections 17-16-2 and 17-16-2.1 and incurred in holding and conducting an election in which only candidates for federal or state offices are nominat…

The election of any person declared elected to the office of Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, Attorney General, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, Public Service Commissioner, senator or representative in the Legislature, justices of the Supreme Court, j…

No malconduct, fraud, or corruption on the part of the inspector, clerk, returning officer, canvassing board, or other person, nor any offers to bribe, bribery, intimidation, or other malconduct which prevented a fair, free, and full exercise of the elective franchise can annul o…

Any person examined as a witness may be required to answer if he or she voted at the election contested and to answer touching his or her qualifications; and if he or she was not at such election a qualified voter, he or she may be required to answer for whom he or she voted. If …

It shall be the duty of the judge of probate of any county, upon the application of either party to any contest, or his or her agent or attorney, to deliver to the party, his or her agent or attorney, a certified copy of the registration lists and poll lists (one or both) of his …

No jurisdiction exists in or shall be exercised by any judge or court to entertain any proceeding for ascertaining the legality, conduct, or results of any election, except so far as authority to do so shall be specially and specifically enumerated and set down by statute; and an…

In all election contests other than political party primaries or runoffs, any person or candidate involved in the contest is entitled to make an examination of the ballots cast, given, or rejected in the election, to make an examination of the voting equipment used in the electio…

In all election contests involving elections other than party primaries or runoffs: (1) The examining person or candidate seeking to examine the ballots, electronic voting machines, or electronic voting machine computations or printouts must move, within 10 days of the filing of …

When any elector chooses to contest the election of any person declared to be elected to the office of senator or representative in the Legislature, judge of the circuit court or district court, any office which is filled by the vote of a single county, or constable, he or she mu…

No testimony must be received of any illegal votes or of the rejection of any legal votes in any contested election commenced under the provisions of this article unless the party complaining thereof has given to the adverse party notice in writing of the number of illegal votes …

All contests of elections provided for in this article must be commenced within 20 days after the result of the election is declared, except as in this article otherwise provided; and at the time of commencing such contest and the filing of the statement in writing, the party con…

Amendments in General. Except as provided in Section 17-8-12, the State of Alabama shall reimburse a county for one half of all sums expended by the county in payment of expenses incurred in holding and conducting an election at which both amendments to the Constitution of Alabam…

If the contest is of the election of a senator or representative in the Legislature, the elector contesting must file in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of any county of the senatorial district, if such contest is of the election of a senator, or in the office of the…

The testimony in the case of a contest provided for in Section 17-16-50 must be taken by deposition under commission issued by the clerk of the court where the statement of contest is filed, which commission must issue upon the party applying for the same making and filing an aff…

Returned. The commissioner must carefully envelop the depositions taken, with the commission attached, writing his or her name across the sealing of the envelope and endorsing thereon the names of the witnesses and the title and subject matter of the contest, and direct the envel…

The package mailed by the clerk must be opened by the presiding officer and presented to the house over which he or she presides for such action as such house may deem proper. On the determination of the contest, the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House, as the case …

Generally. If the contest is of an election to the office of judge of the circuit court or of the district court, the party contesting must file in the office of the judge of probate of the county of the residence of the person declared elected, a statement in writing of the grou…

Heard Without Jury. The testimony on the contest must be taken by deposition as in civil cases at common law, but no affidavit, other than that of the materiality of the testimony of the witnesses proposed to be examined, shall be required. Either party may, on giving five days’ …

Municipal Officers - Generally. If the contest is of an election to the office of judge of the probate court, sheriff, tax assessor, tax collector, county treasurer, clerk of the circuit court, or any other office filled by the vote of a single county or any subdivision thereof, …

Municipal Officers - Court Open at All Times. For the purpose of hearing and determining any contest instituted under the provisions of Section 17-16-56, the circuit court shall at all times be open. History: (Acts 1911, No. 202, p. 195; Code 1923, §560; Code 1940, T. 17, §246; §…

In all contests of elections before the judge of probate or the circuit court, the judge presiding is authorized to make an examination of the ballots given or rejected in the election so far as the judge may deem it necessary to arrive at a correct judgment, and may make and enf…

If, on the trial of the contest of any election, either before the judge of probate or the circuit court, it shall appear that any person other than the one whose election is contested, received or would have received, had the ballots intended for the person and illegally rejecte…

Amendments Affecting State as a Whole. The State of Alabama shall reimburse a county for all sums expended by the county in payment of expenses incurred in holding and conducting an election at which only amendments to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901 affecting the State of Al…

In all contests of elections, such contests are not abated by the death of the party commencing them before final judgment, if any qualified elector appears in court and substitutes as a contestant and gives good and sufficient security for the costs which have accrued or may acc…

In all contested elections before the judge of probate, an appeal lies to the Supreme Court within 14 days after the rendition of the judgment. From the judgment of the circuit court on the contest of an election of a judge of probate or sheriff or any other officer mentioned in …

On the taking of an appeal as provided in Section 17-16-61, the appellant must give bond and security for the costs thereof to be approved by the judge of probate or clerk of the circuit court, as the appeal may be taken from the judgment of the judge of probate or circuit court,…

When any elector shall choose to contest any election for the office of Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, Attorney General, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, justices of the Supreme Court, or judges of the courts of appeals, the elector, within 10 days a…

The written statement of the grounds of contest must set forth specifically: (1) The name of the person contesting and that the person was a qualified voter when the election was held. (2) The office which the election was held to fill, and the time of holding the same. (3) The p…

The two houses of the Legislature, in joint convention assembled, and presided over by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, shall constitute the tribunal for the trial of all contests for the office of Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, Attorney General, Co…

When any contest shall have been commenced under the provisions of this article for any of the officers mentioned in Section 17-16-65, it shall be the duty of the Legislature, in joint convention, to elect by ballot three senators and five representatives, who shall act as a comm…

The commission provided for in Section 17-16-66 shall sit at such times and places as may be directed by the joint convention, and shall be presided over by a chair of its own selection, and each member of the commission shall receive four dollars ($4) per diem during the time of…

The commission shall take testimony on the part of the contestant, and also on the part of the contestee, and shall have power to send for witnesses, books, and papers anywhere in the State of Alabama; shall have power to issue warrants, under the hand of the chair, to any judge,…

Whenever either party shall apply to the commission to examine witnesses, either before the commission or by warrant issued from the commission, the adverse party shall have five days’ notice of the application and of the time and place of taking such depositions. History: (Code …

There is hereby appropriated of any funds in the State Treasury not otherwise appropriated such sum or sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of Sections 17-16-2 through 17-16-6. History: (Acts 1955, No. 160, p. 406, §6; §17-21-6; amended and renumbered by Act 2006-…

If any witness, being summoned, fails to attend, or being summoned with a subpoena duces tecum, fails and refuses to produce the paper or document required to be produced by the subpoena, the commission shall have the right and authority to punish the witness for contempt by a fi…

No evidence shall be taken on the part of the contestant unless to sustain some one of the specific allegations of the original or amended statement of grounds of contest. Nor shall any evidence be taken on the part of the contestee except in rebuttal of the specific allegations …

Each party shall have the right to be present at the taking of any evidence, in person or by agent or attorney. History: (Code 1896, §1681; Code 1907, §487; Code 1923, §577; Code 1940, T. 17, §263; §17-15-59; amended and renumbered by Act 2006-570, p. 1331, §83.)

It shall be the duty of the commission to examine the evidence adduced upon the contest, and shall report its conclusions to the joint convention of the two houses, and all evidence taken under the provisions of this article shall be returned by the commission to the Speaker of t…

The witnesses shall be allowed for their attendance one dollar ($1) a day and three cents ($.03) a mile coming and going by the route most usually traveled, from their place of residence to where such depositions are taken. History: (Code 1896, §1683; Code 1907, §489; Code 1923, …

The sheriffs of Alabama in their respective counties are required to serve subpoenas and such other writs as the commission may have authority to issue, and shall be allowed the same compensation as is now allowed by law for similar services performed at the command of the courts…

After the determination of the contest, the Clerk of the House of Representatives must tax the costs accrued and certify the amount of each separate item, the name of the person entitled thereto, and the result of such contest and the names of the sureties on the bond for contest…

General Election. (a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the Alabama Voter Confidence Act. (b) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the Secretary of State may conduct a limited post-election audit of the November 8, 2022, statewide general election, as prov…