Title 17 — Title 17

In determining the total vote of a political party whenever required by this chapter, the test shall be the total vote received by a candidate of that party who received the highest vote total of any of the candidates of that party. History: (Acts 1975, No. 1196, p. 2349, §3; §17…

Primary elections are not compulsory. A political party may, by its state executive committee, elect whether it will come under the primary election law. All political parties are presumed to have accepted and come under the provisions of the primary election law, but any politic…

Political parties may provide for the selection of delegates to national conventions by the holding of a presidential preference primary or by popular election of the delegates or otherwise. In the event a presidential preference primary is called by the governing body of any par…

There may be provided a committee of each party for the state and each political subdivision of the state, including counties, the committees to be selected in such manner as may be provided for by the governing authority of each party, but if there shall not be elected or chosen…

The state or county executive committee of any political party may, by a majority vote of the committee, require that members of the committee be elected by the qualified electors of such political party. If such committee adopts an appropriate resolution requiring that such memb…

When the governing body of any political party desires to enter the primary election ordered to be held under this chapter, the governing body for the state shall give public notice thereof by filing a copy of the resolution of such governing body with the Secretary of State of A…

The governing body of a party may fix assessments upon those able to pay, or other qualifications as it may deem necessary, for persons desiring to become candidates for nomination to offices at a primary election, but such assessments shall not exceed two percent of one year’s s…

Each candidate for nomination may, at least 45 days before the primary, present to the county executive committee of his or her party a list of election officials desired by him or her for any one or more of the districts, wards, or precincts, and the county committee, so far as …

The state executive committee or other governing body of any political party may provide for state conventions or conventions of other subdivisions and may provide for the election of delegates to such convention or other party officials at the general primary herein provided for…

Candidates; Preparation of Ballots; Unopposed Candidates. (a) All candidates for nomination to public office or for election to party office in the primary election provided for in this chapter shall file their declaration of candidacy with the state party chair if they seek any …

Officers, Etc. (a) When any political party shall desire to hold any mass meeting, beat meeting, or other meeting of the voters of such party for the purpose of nominating any candidate or candidates for public office to be voted for in a general election in Alabama or for the pu…

Sections 17-13-50 and 17-17-50 shall not apply where a special election is called for the election of a public officer for which the party has no candidate or where, by death, resignation, or otherwise, a vacancy has occurred in any nomination made by such party. Sections 17-13-5…

The certificate of nomination by any caucus, convention, mass meeting, or other assembly of any political party or faction in this state not conducting a primary election at the expense of the state shall be filed on or before 5:00 P.M. of the primary election day to certify thei…

The name of no candidate shall be printed upon any official ballot used at any primary election unless such person is legally qualified to hold the office for which he or she is a candidate and unless he or she is eligible to vote in the primary election in which he or she seeks …

Signing Poll List. (a) All persons who are qualified electors under the general laws of the State of Alabama and who are also members of a political party and entitled to participate in such primary election under the rules of the party shall be entitled to vote therein and shall…

(a) If an elector votes in a primary election, he or she may vote in a subsequent primary runoff election only if he or she voted in the primary election of the same political party for which the runoff election is being held. (b) The Secretary of State shall promulgate rules to …

Any contest to a nomination made by primary election must be filed within 24 hours after the results of the primary election have been declared, weekends excluded, under the same conditions and on the same grounds as provided in the laws of Alabama for general elections of state …

The contests of nomination by a party for office, other than a county office, may be instituted by any qualified elector of the state, or of the political subdivision, as the case may be, who belongs to that party and who legally participated in such primary election, upon the fo…

None of the grounds of contest enumerated in Section 17-13-71 shall serve to annul or set aside any declared nomination, unless such ground alone or in conjunction with other of such grounds alleged shall serve to show to the reasonable satisfaction of the committee trying the co…

When a contest of a nomination is instituted or where a special primary to nominate is held as provided for in this chapter, the declared nominee for such office shall not be certified until after termination of the contest filed in the time herein prescribed. History: (Acts 1931…

In the hearing of any contest before any committee or subcommittee under the provisions of this article, such committee, through its chair, or through such other authority as may be designated, shall have authority to summon witnesses to appear before it, or before any subcommitt…

Any person examined as a witness on a contest of a nomination may be required to answer as to whether he or she voted at the primary and touching his or her qualification to vote thereat and to answer for whom he or she voted in the race concerned in the contest. A person who swe…

The chair of any committee or subcommittee before which may be pending any contest as herein provided may administer oaths to witnesses in such contests and summon persons and officers to be and appear before such committee or subcommittee. The person who desires the summoning of…

The judge of probate of any county, upon the application of either party to any contest or his or her agent or attorney, shall deliver to the party, agent, or attorney a certified copy of the registration list of the county or for any election district, ward, or precinct therein,…

(a) Any elector of a party desiring to contest the nomination by his or her party of any candidate declared the nominee for any office shall make a statement in writing setting forth specifically all of the following: (1) The name of the party contesting and that the elector was …

No testimony shall be received of any illegal votes or of the rejection of any legal votes in any contest commenced under this article unless the party complaining thereof has given to the adverse party notice in writing of the number of illegal votes and by whom given, for whom …

Ballot. Separate official ballots and other election stationery and supplies for each political party shall be printed and furnished for use at each election district or precinct and shall be of a different color for each of the political parties participating in such primary ele…

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 17-6-23 and Section 17-13-18, in a primary election or second primary election, this section shall apply only to voters who are voting by absentee ballot pursuant to the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act in any count…

Commencement. Any contest of a nomination to any county office must be commenced within 24 hours after the result has been canvassed and the nomination declared by the county executive committee of the party holding the primary, by filing a statement of contest with the chair of …

Executive Committee in Case of Contest. The chair of the county executive committee, upon the filing with him or her of any contest as provided in this article, shall call the committee together at the county seat and the committee shall meet not more than five calendar days from…

County Executive Committee. (a) Either party to a contest under this article shall have the right of an appeal to the state executive committee from the final decision of the county executive committee upon the same. Notice of such appeal shall be filed with the chair of the stat…

County Office. Any qualified elector of a party participating in any primary election held under the provisions of this chapter may, if the elector participated in the primary, contest a nomination declared by his or her party to any office, other than a county office, by filing …

Contempt. Upon the filing of any contest of nomination, the chair of the executive committee with which the contest is filed shall file a statement in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of the county where the contestant resides of the fact that such a contest has been …

The chair of the state executive committee shall, upon the filing of a contest with him or her, as provided in this article, call the committee to meet and the committee shall meet not more than five calendar days from the time of filing such contest for the purpose of hearing an…

Upon the hearing of any contest, if the state or county executive committee finally determines who is the legal nominee for any office, it shall make a declaration of its judgment upon the question not later than 90 days before the general election for a county office and not lat…

If, upon the hearing of any contest for any office, as provided for in this chapter, the committee, after an investigation and hearing of the contest, shall determine that it is impossible from the evidence before it to decide who is the legally nominated candidate for the office…

The state executive committee may prescribe such other additional rules governing contests and other matters of party procedure as it may deem necessary not in conflict with this chapter. History: (Acts 1931, No. 56, p. 73; Code 1940, T. 17, §389; §17-16-88; amended and renumbere…

Upon filing of any contest as herein provided, the executive committee before whom any such contest is pending, if in session, or the chair of such committee, if it is not in session, may appoint a commissioner, upon the request of either party, for the purpose of taking testimon…

The judge of probate of each county is hereby required to furnish to the officers of the primary election a copy of the official list of voters of each voting place in the county, of the same kind and in the same manner as the judge of probate is required by law to furnish such l…

The following officers in this state shall be elected by the qualified electors thereof: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Auditor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, public service commissioners, senators and representatives…

Electors for President and Vice President of the United States shall be elected on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2008, and every fourth year thereafter. A member of Congress from each congressional district shall be elected on the first Tuesday after the fi…

At the general election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2008, and each six years thereafter, a senator of and from the State of Alabama in the Senate of the United States shall be elected by the people for a term of six years, beginning on the t…

General elections throughout the state shall be held for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Auditor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, Chief Justice and associate justices of the Supreme Court, judges of the courts of appeals…

June 1, 2026.] AMENDED BY ACT 2026-345, EFFECTIVE JUNE 1, 2026. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE. The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Auditor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, senators and representatives in the Legislature, …

On the day prescribed in Section 17-14-10, there are to be elected, in the manner provided in this chapter, a number of electors for President and Vice President of the United States equal to the number of senators and representatives in Congress to which this state is entitled a…

Electors; Statement of Electors. (a) When presidential electors are to be chosen, the Secretary of State of Alabama shall certify to the judges of probate of the several counties the names of all candidates for President and Vice President who are nominated by any national conven…

Electors. The names of all candidates for President and Vice President who are nominated as provided in this chapter shall be printed on the official ballots under the emblem of their respective political parties, as filed in the office of the Secretary of State of Alabama. The n…

In all elections for electors for President and Vice President, the canvassing board of each county must, within five days after making the statement of the county vote by precincts, return the result of the same to the Secretary of State. History: (Code 1876, §343; Code 1886, §4…

Within 15 days after the time for making the returns, the Governor, in the presence of the Secretary of State and Attorney General, or either of them in the absence of the other, must certify the returns, ascertain which electors are elected, and notify them by proclamation. Hist…

If, at the time of making the certification under Section 17-14-34, it is found that an election of the number of electors to which the state is entitled is not made by reason of two or more candidates having received an equal number of votes, the Governor must forthwith decide b…