Title 17 — Title 17

(a) Beginning in February 2025, and in February of every fourth year thereafter, the board of registrars, or the Secretary of State if acting as the board’s agent pursuant to subsection (h), shall use change-of-address information supplied by the United States Postal Service thro…

The state shall reimburse each county commission for all the postage costs associated with voter lists maintenance activities provided for in Section 17-4-30 and one-half of the cost of the publication of the names of individuals to be removed from the list of registered voters a…

No State Entities to Pay Costs for Access to List. The judge of probate shall have access to and be provided with the current list of registered voters within his or her county at no cost within seven days after making the request. If computer access to the list of registered vot…

(a) The State of Alabama shall provide, through the Secretary of State, a nondiscriminatory, single, uniform, official, centralized, interactive computerized statewide voter registration list defined, maintained, and administered by the Secretary of State, with advice from the Vo…

(a) As an oversight board for the system, there is created and established a State Voter Registration Advisory Board composed of nine members, to be appointed as follows: Three members by the Governor, one of whom shall reflect the racial, ethnic, gender, and age diversity of the…

The Supervisor of Voter Registration shall be employed by the Secretary of State under the terms and conditions of the state Merit System and the salary and benefits shall be set by the Secretary of State out of funds appropriated for such purpose. The Supervisor of Voter Registr…

(a) In order to establish the statewide voter file and to ensure its continued accuracy, it shall be the duty of the boards of registrars, on forms or in a rule prescribed by the Secretary of State: (1) To provide the Secretary of State the name, driver’s license number or non- d…

All voter registration, voter reidentification, and the purging of voters from the voter roll shall be done pursuant to this chapter. History: (Acts 1989, No. 89-649, p. 1279, §6; §17-4-215; amended and renumbered by Act 2006-570, p. 1331, §20.)

2026-570) [Effective until June 1, 2026.] AMENDED BY ACT 2026-570, EFFECTIVE JUNE 1, 2026. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE. (a) The Secretary of State shall ensure that all applicants obtain requested voter lists in a timely manner. Methods shall be established for the transmission …

Authority. (a) State agencies shall provide to the Secretary of State, on a schedule to be determined by the Secretary of State, any information and data that the Secretary of State considers necessary in order to maintain the statewide voter registration database established pur…

Registered Individuals; Alabama Voter Integrity Database. (a) The board of registrars shall be responsible for entering and updating in a timely manner the names and information of the electors who register to vote and vote in each election into the state voter registration list …

to Boards of Registrars; Rulemaking Authority. (a) In addition to all other duties now required by law, the Office of Vital Statistics of the State Department of Public Health shall furnish to the board of registrars of the county in which such district is located, once each mont…

When a person makes application for registration before a county board of registrars, it shall be the duty of that board, if the elector has been previously registered before in any other county or state, to notify the registrar of voters in the county or state of the previous re…

(a) To continuously and automatically identify the names of persons to be purged from the voters’ list, the appropriate state departments or agencies shall provide to the Secretary of State, as such information is recorded by the departments, the names and identifying information…

Nonresident of the Precinct. (a) To facilitate the continuous maintenance of the computerized statewide voter registration list, each county board of registrars shall investigate written reports from a family member of an elector, the inspector of an election precinct, the judge …

(a) The Secretary of State shall be the primary state official for federal contact for the implementation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002. (b) The State Department of Public Safety shall integrate voter registration into driver…

The Secretary of State may hire a computer programmer or other necessary personnel to carry out the additional responsibilities placed on his or her office by state implementation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. The programmer and other personnel employed shall be…

There is established a separate trust fund in the State Treasury to be known as the Voter Registration Fund. All receipts collected under this article by the Secretary of State are to be deposited in this fund. The receipts shall be disbursed only by warrant of the state Comptrol…

The Secretary of State shall promulgate rules and prescribe forms and instructions as shall be necessary to implement the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 in Alabama or the Help America Vote Act of 2002, including any rules and forms necessary for the administration of the…

In addition to the duty of the board of registrars to update the voter registration list on a continuous basis, the board of registrars shall meet during the month of January for the purpose of conducting the voter list maintenance activities prescribed herein, including the purg…

Eligible by Mail. Each voter whose name is to be removed shall reidentify himself or herself by appearing in person before a registrar, or by appearing before the judge of probate, or either of the clerks in the office of the judge of probate, or through his or her representative…

Any voter who fails to vote for four years in his or her county shall have his or her name placed on an inactive voter list by the local board of registrars. Once on the inactive list, the voter shall reidentify with the local board of registrars in order to again have his or her…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Fair Campaign Practices Act.” History: (Acts 1988, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 88-873, p. 397, §1; §17-22A-1; amended and renumbered by Act 2006-570, p. 1331, §23.)

(a) Each report or statement shall be preserved and a copy made available for public inspection by the Secretary of State. (b) The date of filing of a report or statement filed pursuant to this chapter shall be deemed to be the date of receipt by the Secretary of State; provided,…

The Secretary of State shall have the following duties: (1) To accept and file all reports and statements, including amendments, required by this chapter to be filed with the Secretary of State and to accept any information voluntarily supplied that exceeds the requirements of th…

(a) Any paid political advertisement or electioneering communication appearing in any print media or broadcast on any electronic media shall clearly and distinctly identify the entity responsible for paying for the advertisement or electioneering communication. It shall be unlawf…

Committee, Etc. It shall be unlawful for any person, candidate, principal campaign committee, or political action committee to publish or distribute or display, or cause to be published or distributed or displayed, any card, pamphlet, circular, poster, or other printed material r…

Establishment by Corporation; Actions by Utilities. (a) A corporation incorporated or organized under the laws of this state, or doing business in this state, may make a contribution or expenditure to or on behalf of any candidate or political action committee in the same manner …

Contributions; Filing of Disclosure Reports; Violations. (a) Any business or nonprofit corporation, incorporated under the laws of or doing business in this state, or any officer or agent acting on behalf of the corporation may give, pay, expend, or contribute money, services, an…

Between Political Action Committees, Etc. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person, acting for himself or herself or on behalf of any entity, to make a contribution in the name of another person or entity, or knowingly permit his or her name, or the entity’s name, to be used to ef…

Funds by Principal Campaign Committee of a State or Local Candidate. [Effective until October 1, 2026.] AMENDED BY ACT 2026-266, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2026. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE. (a) A principal campaign committee of a state or local candidate and any person authorized to …

Automated or Pre-recorded Communications. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person fraudulently to misrepresent himself or herself, or any other person or organization with which he or she is affiliated, as speaking or writing or otherwise acting for or on behalf of any candidate,…

Election. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. Any artificial system or generative artificial intelligence system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances without significant h…

It shall be unlawful for any person, principal campaign committee, or political action committee established pursuant to this chapter or for any person acting on behalf of such person or committee, to solicit or secure any money or anything of value by physical force, job discrim…

Repealed by Act 2013-311, §3, effective August 1, 2013. History: (Acts 1988, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 88-873, p. 397, §21; §17-22A-21; amended and renumbered by Act 2006-570, p. 1331, §24.)

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person who intentionally violates any provision of this chapter shall be guilty, upon conviction, of a Class A misdemeanor. (b) A person who intentionally violates any reporting requirement of Sections 17-5- 4, 17-5-5, or 17-5-8…

(a) The Secretary of State shall levy a civil penalty against any person who fails to timely file a report required by this chapter and who does not remedy the filing of the report pursuant to subsection (h). The State Ethics Commission may levy an administrative penalty against …

(a) Any person upon whom a civil penalty has been imposed pursuant to Section 17-5-19.1 may seek a review of the penalty by filing a written notice with the Secretary of State no later than 14 days after the date on which notification of the imposition of the penalty was mailed t…

(a) For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) CANDIDATE. An individual who has done any of the following: a. Taken the action necessary under the laws of the state to qualify himself or herself for nomination or for election to any s…

(a) A candidate, or in the case of a political action committee, the chair or treasurer, may appoint a designated filing agent on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State. Upon receiving a notice of appointment of designated filing agent, the Secretary of State, as soon as pra…

The Secretary of State is authorized to promulgate administrative rules pursuant to the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act as necessary to implement and administer the Alabama Fair Campaign Practices Act. History: (Act 2015-495, §2.)

(a) Every political action committee shall have a chair and a treasurer. (b) All funds of a political action committee shall be segregated from, and shall not be commingled with, any personal funds of officers, members, or associates of such committee. (c) It shall be the duty of…

Procedures; Dissolution. (a) Within five days after any person becomes a candidate for office, the person shall file with the Secretary of State a statement showing the name of not less than two nor more than five persons elected to serve as the principal campaign committee for t…

Requirements. A candidate running for a municipal office is exempt from the filing requirements of Sections 17-5-4 and 17-5-8, unless and until the candidate receives contributions or makes expenditures in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000). History: (Act 2024-104, §1.)

(a) The treasurer or designated filing agent of each political action committee that anticipates either receiving contributions or making expenditures during the calendar year in an aggregate amount exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) shall file with the Secretary of State a …

(a) Except as provided in subsection (d), each legislative caucus organization that raises funds for its administration and operation shall register with the Secretary of the Senate, for a Senate caucus, or the Clerk of the House of Representatives, for a House caucus, or both fo…

A political action committee and a principal campaign committee shall maintain a checking account, money market account, or other similar banking account and shall deposit any contributions received by such committee into such account. No expenditure of funds may be made by any s…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (d) and in Section 17-5-7.1, a candidate, public official, or treasurer of a principal campaign committee as defined in this chapter, may only use campaign contributions, and any proceeds from investing the contributions that are in excess of …

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a principal campaign committee or political action committee may return or refund, in full or in part, any lawful contribution it receives to the donor, provided that such return or refund may not exceed the amount received. Any law…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), property purchased by or contributed to a principal campaign committee with a value of five hundred dollars ($500) or more shall be liquidated at fair market value or donated to a qualified entity pursuant to subsection (a) of Section 17-…