Title 17 — Title 17

It is the purpose of this chapter to provide for participation by the State of Alabama in programs of the Bureau of the Census of the United States Department of Commerce which provide for furnishing census information to the states for purposes of reapportionment, pursuant to fe…

Reapportionment Coordination. (a) The governing body of each county shall establish precincts, define the territorial limits for which each precinct is established, prescribe their boundaries using the most recent federal decennial census tract and block map, and designate the pr…

In all elections held in this state on any subject which may be submitted by law to the vote of the people and for all or any state, county, district, or municipal officers, the voting shall be by official ballot prescribed by law; but this section shall not apply to elections he…

(a) The official ballots shall contain the names of all candidates nominated by caucus, convention, mass meeting, primary election, or other assembly of any political party or faction, or by petition of electors and certified as provided in Section 17-9-3, but no individual’s nam…

(a) No political party, except those qualified as a political party under Chapter 13, shall be included on any general election ballot unless: (1) The party shall have filed with the Secretary of State or other appropriate official on the date of the first primary election a list…

President. There shall be provided at each polling place at each election at which public officers are voted for, but one form of ballot for all the candidates for public office, and every ballot shall contain the names of all candidates whose nominations for any office specified…

(a) All ballots shall be in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and shall contain a party emblem for each political party represented on the ticket. The arrangement of the ballot shall in general conform substantially to the plan hereinafter given, and in all cases the…

The names of candidates for each office shall be listed on the ballot in alphabetical order by surname, and the offices shall be listed in the following order: (1) President (if preference primary). (2) Governor. (3) Lieutenant Governor. (4) United States Senator. (5) United Stat…

Folders. (a) Ballots, so far as practicable, shall be in the same order of arrangement as required by Section 17-6-24, except that they shall be of the size and design required by the precinct ballot counters and may be printed upon one or more separate pages or cards. Ballots fo…

The elector may write in the column under the title of the office the name of any person whose name is not printed upon the ballot for whom the elector may desire to vote. In case of nomination by independent bodies, the ballot shall be so arranged that at the right of the last c…

(a) Write-in votes shall be permitted only in non-municipal general elections and shall be counted as provided in this section based on one of the following: (1) Upon a determination that the number of write-in votes for a specific office is greater than or equal to the differenc…

Each political party, by its state party convention or state executive committee, shall adopt, prepare, and file with the Secretary of State, at least 60 days before each election for state officers, an original copy and a copy in a digital or other electronic format acceptable b…

(a) Except as may be provided further by local election laws or by the electronic vote counting statutes, the counties in this state, as divided pursuant to this chapter into election precincts, and the boundaries of such precincts shall so remain until changed by order of the co…

The Secretary of State shall send a copy of the emblem adopted by each political party with a certification of the ballot to each judge of probate in the state of the adoption of the emblem by the political party filing it. History: (Code 1907, §375; Code 1923, §465; Code 1940, T…

The coat of arms or seal of any state or the United States, or the national flag, or the likeness of any person, living or dead, or religious emblem or symbol of any secret or fraternal organization or society, or the symbol of any industrial organization or a representation of a…

When there is a division of any political party and each faction claims the party emblem, the judge of probate shall at once certify the fact to the chair of the state executive committee of that party, who shall within 10 days notify the judge of probate which ticket is entitled…

Whenever nominations for two or more offices of the same classification are to be made, or whenever candidates are to be elected to two or more offices of the same classification at the same primary, general, special, or municipal election, each office shall be separately designa…

Every voter in Alabama shall have the right to vote a secret ballot, and that ballot shall be kept secret and inviolate. History: (Acts 1939, No. 209, p. 361; Code 1940, T. 17, §156; §17-8-11; amended and renumbered by Act 2006-570, p. 1331, §33.)

If the elector desires to vote a straight party ticket, that is, for each and every candidate for one party for whatever office nominated, he or she shall mark the name of the party at the head of the ticket in the manner determined by a rule adopted by the Secretary of State und…

When only one candidate is to be elected to any office and the elector desires to vote for a candidate not on the straight party ticket, the elector may mark the name of the candidate for whom he or she desires to vote on the ballot. History: (Code 1907, §382; Code 1923, §472; Co…

Tickets. When two or more candidates are to be elected to the same office and the elector desires to vote for candidates on different party tickets for such office, the elector may mark the names of the candidates for whom he or she desires to vote on the ballot. History: (Code 1…

If the elector desires to vote a split ticket, that is, for candidates of different parties, the elector may mark the voting space by the name of each candidate for whom the elector desires to vote on whatever ticket the candidate may be. History: (Code 1907, §384; Code 1923, §47…

Candidates. If the ballot marked for a straight party ticket does not contain the names of candidates for all offices for which the elector may vote, the elector may vote for candidates for such offices so omitted by marking the names of candidates for such offices on other ticke…

(a) Except as may be provided further by local election laws or by the electronic vote counting statutes, the county governing bodies shall designate the places of holding elections in the precincts established hereunder, and, whenever the county has alphabetically divided the li…

If the elector desires to vote for any person whose name does not appear upon the ballot, he or she can so vote by writing the name in the proper place on the blank column. History: (Code 1907, §386; Code 1923, §476; Code 1940, T. 17, §162; §17-8-20; amended and renumbered by Act…

Whenever a constitutional amendment is submitted to a vote of the qualified electors the substance or subject matter of each proposed amendment shall be so printed that the nature thereof shall be clearly indicated. Following each proposed amendment or other public measure on the…

The printing and delivery of the ballots and cards of instructions to voters shall in municipal elections be paid for by the several cities and towns and in all other elections by the several counties respectively. History: (Code 1896, §1609; Code 1907, §391; Code 1923, §481; Cod…

Ballots for use in a precinct shall be packaged in convenient numbers in such manner that each ballot may be removed separately. Each ballot shall have attached to it a numbered stub which can be detached therefrom without injury to the ballot or exposing the contents thereof. Hi…

There shall be provided for each voting place at least one ballot for each registered elector at that place. History: (Code 1896, §1613; Code 1907, §394; Code 1923, §484; Code 1940, T. 17, §170; Acts 1991, No. 91-583, p. 1073, §1; §17-8-25; amended and renumbered by Act 2006-570,…

In case of any municipal election held at a time different from a general state or federal election, the duties herein prescribed for the judge of probate in respect to receiving nominations, printing and distributing ballots and cards of instructions shall be discharged under th…

(a) The judge of probate shall cause to be printed in large type posters of instructions for the guidance of electors in preparing their ballots. Instructional information shall not show partiality to any political party or candidate. The information shall include: (1) A sample v…

The judge of probate for each county shall have printed, at the expense of the county, ballots, blank poll lists, certificates of results, oaths, and any other stationery or blank forms necessary in the conduct of an election. The judge of probate shall also superintend and insur…

In all primary and general elections of associate justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama, justices of the courts of appeals of Alabama, judges of the circuit and district courts, and associate members of the public service commission, wherein two or more of such justices, judge…

of Appeal. (a) Beginning with the 2022 statewide election, the following offices on the supreme court, court of criminal appeals, and court of civil appeals shall be permanently identified as follows: (1) The supreme court: a. The office of associate justice identified as “Place …

Every person who seeks an office mentioned in Section 17-6-48 shall, when becoming a candidate pursuant to Section 17-5-2, designate the number of the office for which he or she is a candidate. History: (Acts 1927, No. 348, p. 409; Code 1940, T. 17, §147; §17-7-21; amended and re…

The judge of probate shall prepare a separate, correct alphabetical list of all the names of qualified electors or voters for each voting place from the state voter registration list, pursuant to Sections 17-4-1 and 17-4-2, for all elections hereafter held in this state, whether …

(a) The county governing body shall have sole authority to change the configuration, boundaries, or designation of an election precinct. Any change so determined shall be adopted by resolution of the county governing body. (b) A county governing body shall only change a precinct …

Bureau of Census; Assistance to Counties. (a) The Permanent Legislative Committee on Reapportionment, or its designees, shall serve as the state liaison with the United States Bureau of the Census on all matters related to the tabulation of population and other census information…

Reapportionment. All state and county agencies and officials shall cooperate with the Permanent Legislative Committee on Reapportionment in carrying out the purposes of this chapter and shall cooperate with the Permanent Legislative Committee on Reapportionment in the development…

This article shall be known and may be cited as The Alabama Informed Voter Act. History: (Act 2014-399, p. 1462, §1.)

(a)(1) There is created the Fair Ballot Commission. The purpose of the commission is to provide to the public a fair and accurate explanation of what a vote for and what a vote against a statewide ballot measure represents. (2) The commission shall consist of the following 18 mem…

The provisions of this article shall have no effect on the conduct of municipal elections of this state. It is further specifically provided that nothing herein contained shall be construed to require any municipality to establish single or multiple representation districts for t…