Title 11

The governing body of all municipal corporations of this state may, by ordinance, establish and fix a qualification fee to be imposed upon all candidates seeking election in municipal elections conducted under the provisions of Sections 11-46-20 through 11-46-25, 11-46-27 through…

Primary elections of political parties are hereby abolished in cities and towns of this state which have a population of 300,000 inhabitants or less, according to the latest federal decennial census, and election of the members of the municipal governing body of said cities and t…

(a) The incorporated municipalities of this state are hereby authorized to enter into contracts with the counties of this state and their boards of registrars to conduct an identification program of electors eligible to vote in municipal elections. The said municipalities are aut…

The governing body of a municipality having a general municipal election or runoff election required by general or local act at a time different from the dates now or hereafter provided by Article 2, Chapter 46 of Title 11, may elect by ordinance to have the election at the same …

(a) The provisions of this section shall apply to all Class 5 cities, according to Section 11-40-12. (b) Any Class 5 city may hold its city election on the second Tuesday in July, 1980, and the runoff election four weeks after that second Tuesday, with the city election every thr…

(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, except for those citizens of Birmingham that reside in Shelby County and those citizens of Birmingham that vote in the general election outside the Birmingham city limits, the polling places for municipal elections in any …

(a) This section shall only apply in a Class 1 municipality. (b) Commencing with the municipal election in 2011, the mayor shall be elected for a two-year term of office. Commencing with the municipal election in 2013, and thereafter, the mayor and the members of the city council…

In any Class 1 municipality, the mayor, the city attorney, and the president of the city council shall constitute an election commission for the city. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if either the mayor or the president of the council is a candidate for office, the mayor shall app…

(a) General and special elections in cities and towns of this state, in all municipalities except Class 1 municipalities and except cities and towns organized under a commission form of government, shall be held and conducted at the times and in the manner prescribed in this arti…

(a) The regular municipal elections in cities and towns shall be held on the fourth Tuesday in August 2025, and quadrennially thereafter, and, when necessary as provided in subsection (d) of Section 11-46-55, a second or runoff election shall be held on the fourth Tuesday followi…

(a) It shall be the duty of the mayor to give notice of all municipal elections by publishing notice thereof in a newspaper published in the city or town, and, if no newspaper is published in the city or town, by posting notices thereof in three public places in the city or town.…

The boundaries of wards within municipalities which have been divided into wards as now defined shall so remain until changed by ordinance. Hereafter the municipal governing body may, in its discretion, readjust the boundary lines of wards and may divide or consolidate any number…

(a) The municipal governing body may, when it orders an election, designate at least one place of voting in each ward and if the ward has been divided into voting districts then at least one place of voting in each district or the municipal governing body may establish and design…

Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of Section 11-46-24, the municipal governing body of a Class 8 municipality, for the purpose of designating voting places in a municipal election, may provide by ordinance for the combination of any district in a ward with any othe…

(a) In all municipal elections on any subject which may be submitted by law to a vote of the people of the municipality and for any municipal officers, if paper ballots are used, the voting shall be by official ballot printed and distributed as provided in subsections (c) and (d)…

In the event only one individual has filed a statement of candidacy for an office by 5:00 P.M. on the fourth Tuesday in June preceding the date set for an election of municipal officers pursuant to subsection (g) of Section 11-46-25, then that individual shall for all purposes be…

(a) The municipal governing body or a majority of them must, not less than 15 days before the holding of any municipal election, appoint from the qualified electors of the respective wards or voting districts officers to hold the election as follows: Where paper ballots are used,…

(a) Every polling place shall open for voting at 7:00 A.M. and shall close at 7:00 P.M. and shall remain open for voting for not less than 12 consecutive hours. All polling places in areas operating on eastern time may open and close under this section pursuant to eastern time. T…

On the failure of any person who has been duly appointed an election officer to attend the polls at the hour prescribed for his attendance, such of the election officers appointed for that voting box or machine as are present may appoint such election officers as are needed to co…

(a) When voting machines are to be used in any municipal election, the municipal governing body shall provide for holding a school or schools of instruction for those who will actually conduct the election. The municipal clerk shall notify those persons who have been appointed el…

During the 30 days next preceding an election at which voting machines will be used, the municipal governing body shall place on public exhibition in public places and at times as it may deem most suitable for the information and instruction of the voters one or more voting machi…

(a) The mayor or other chief executive officer of the municipality shall at the expense of the municipality procure and superintend and insure the delivery to the election officers at each polling place within the corporate limits of the municipality of the necessary election sup…

(a) Whenever voting machines are to be used in any municipal election the municipal clerk shall: (1) Cause the proper ballot labels to be placed on the voting machines; (2) Cause the machines to be placed in proper working order for voting; (3) Examine all voting machines in the …

For all elections at which paper ballots will be used, the chief executive officer of the municipality at the expense of the municipality shall provide at each polling place in all municipalities having a population of over 3,000 inhabitants a room or covered enclosure and in suc…

(a) Each candidate may name a watcher for every polling place. As used in this subsection, a polling place shall mean a location for ballot boxes or voting machines, regardless of the number thereof. (b) The watcher, upon presentation of his or her appointment in writing and bein…

(a) The mayor or other chief executive officer of the city or town shall cause to be made a list of the qualified voters who reside within the corporate limits of such city or town and who are registered to vote regular ballots, dividing the same into separate alphabetical lists …

In the event the mayor or other chief executive officer of any city or town is a candidate in any municipal election held under the provisions of this article, he shall be disqualified to perform the duties set forth in Section 11-46-36, and said duties shall be performed by a di…

(a) At all municipal elections, a qualified elector may vote only in the ward or precinct of his or her residence where he or she is registered to vote. (b) An individual may not vote at any municipal election unless he or she is a qualified elector of the State of Alabama, has r…

(a) Where paper ballots are used, the inspector, upon the elector’s entering the polling place, shall examine the list of qualified electors furnished by the clerk pursuant to subsection (a) of Section 11-46-36, and, if it appears from this examination that the person is a qualif…

When paper ballots are used, any elector applying to vote who shall state under oath to any of the inspectors (which oath may be administered by any one of the inspectors) that by reason of his inability to write the English language, or by reason of blindness or the loss of the …

Where paper ballots are used, no more than 10 electors shall be allowed in the polling place at the same time. In all elections for which voting booths or compartments have been provided, if all such booths or compartments are occupied and other electors are waiting to vote, no e…

(a) Every voter in a municipal election shall have the right to vote a secret ballot which shall be kept secret and inviolate. (b) Electors shall not be entitled to vote for any person whose name does not appear on the ballot, and no elector shall write in the name of any person …

(a) No votes shall be counted until the polls are closed. (b) Immediately after the polls are closed at elections where paper ballots are used, the poll list signed by the voters and the poll list made by one of the clerks shall be sealed in separate envelopes and labelled before…

(a) At elections where paper ballots are used, as soon as the ballots are all counted, the inspectors must ascertain the number of votes received for each person and for what office and must make a statement of same in writing. Each of the inspectors must sign this statement and …

(a) At the time appointed by the municipal governing body to canvass the returns of the election the municipal clerk shall deliver to the governing body the envelopes addressed to the governing body, which were delivered to him or her by the returning officers of the several ward…

(a) Whenever voting machines are used for municipal elections, the key or keys to the voting machine or machines, still in the envelopes in which they were placed when the machines were sealed for this election pursuant to subsection (b) of Section 11-46-33 and with the seals the…

The municipal clerk shall furnish and deliver with each voting machine: Lighting facilities which shall give sufficient light to enable voters while in the voting machine booth to read the ballot labels and suitable for the use of election officers in examining the counters; a mo…

(a) At all elections where voting machines are used, there shall be the following election officers for each voting machine: An inspector, a chief clerk, and a first and a second assistant clerk; except, in the event voting centers are established, then the requirements of Sectio…

(a) The election officials, where voting machines are used, shall ascertain whether each applicant to vote is entitled to vote, and each applicant found to be entitled to vote shall be permitted to vote in the manner provided in this article. Each applicant to vote shall identify…

(a) The election officers shall, with the aid of the diagrams authorized by this article and the mechanically operated model, instruct each voter before he enters the voting machine booth regarding the operation of the machine and shall give the voter opportunity personally to op…

(a) When the time arrives for closing the polls, all qualified voters who are then waiting within the voting room to vote shall be permitted by the election officers to do so. As soon as the last voter has voted and the poll closed, the election officials shall immediately lock t…

(a) The voting machines shall remain locked against voting for the time provided by law for the filing of contests and then shall have the seal broken only on the order of the municipal governing body and if, in the opinion of such body, the contest has developed or is likely to …

(a) The governing body of any municipality procuring voting machines shall designate a person or persons who shall have the custody of the voting machines and the keys therefor when the machines are not in use at an election and shall provide for his compensation and for the safe…

AMENDED BY ACT 2026-579, EFFECTIVE JUNE 1, 2026. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE. (a) Commencing at 12:00 noon on the first Tuesday after the election, the municipal governing body shall proceed to open the envelopes addressed to the governing body which have been delivered by the r…

(a) Any person with standing to contest a municipal election may petition the canvassing authority for a recount of any or all precinct returns. The time period for requesting a recount ends 48 hours after the official canvass of returns by the municipal governing body. The petit…

Any qualified elector of a city or town shall be entitled to cast an absentee ballot under and pursuant to the election laws of the State of Alabama in any municipal election. (Acts 1961, No. 663, p. 827, §37; Acts 1976, No. 358, p. 403, §16.)