ALABAMA PROHIBIT ELECTION CHANGES WITHIN SIX MONTHS AMENDMENT
JULY 31, 2021
The Alabama Prohibit Changes to Election Conduct Laws within Six Months of General Elections Amendment of 2022, reminiscent of the Texas SJR 47 and Texas HJR165 bills in its potential restriction of voters, and Pennsylvania Senate Bill 1166 in its actual restriction of the chief executive of the State of Alabama, is yet another partisan political skirmish in a bloodless war for dominance within a statewide legislature. Though proponents contend that the bill will protect against the tyranny of a supermajority in the Alabama legislature, were that this amendment were already in place during the 2020 election, the minority of voters who participated in the political process and performed their civic duty because of the accommodations made for them would instead have been proscribed in participation.
As with many states in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alabama extended candidate filing deadlines, primary runoff dates, and absentee ballot acceptance procedures for the 2020 election season. Unaffiliated presidential candidates had until August 20, 2020 to file. In the November general election, any qualified voter could cast an absentee ballot. The primary runoff occurred on July 14, 2020, originally scheduled for March 31, 2020.
Much like the pandemic itself, where realities on the ground require a change in strategy and tactics when responding to the phenomenon of disease, any such phenomenon that adversely impacts the interval of time within which citizens have the freedom to vote, requires that the chief executive possess a certain degree of political freedom necessary to act effectively. This loss of political function for the chief executive may spell a loss of political access for her or his constituency. Underrepresented groups are often the least organized to vote, and under extraordinarily adverse circumstances, require the aid of an executive with extraordinarily agile powers to prevent the franchise from contracting inward upon itself to an untenable, unrecognizable level.
As with many states in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alabama extended candidate filing deadlines, primary runoff dates, and absentee ballot acceptance procedures for the 2020 election season. Unaffiliated presidential candidates had until August 20, 2020 to file. In the November general election, any qualified voter could cast an absentee ballot. The primary runoff occurred on July 14, 2020, originally scheduled for March 31, 2020.
Much like the pandemic itself, where realities on the ground require a change in strategy and tactics when responding to the phenomenon of disease, any such phenomenon that adversely impacts the interval of time within which citizens have the freedom to vote, requires that the chief executive possess a certain degree of political freedom necessary to act effectively. This loss of political function for the chief executive may spell a loss of political access for her or his constituency. Underrepresented groups are often the least organized to vote, and under extraordinarily adverse circumstances, require the aid of an executive with extraordinarily agile powers to prevent the franchise from contracting inward upon itself to an untenable, unrecognizable level.