Chapter 3 Case Study: Constitutional Change in Alabama

In 2022, voters of the state of Alabama were presented with an unusual opportunity to adopt an entirely new state constitution—something their state had not done in over 120 years. Drafting a new constitution would enable the state to address the challenges of the current one, specifically eliminating the provision that prevented local governments from making changes autonomously and instead requiring voters of the whole state to approve those changes in amendment form. What this meant, then, was that if voters in a small city wanted to change a local tax issue, the referendum had to be placed on a state ballot, and all voters within the state of Alabama got to decide on this local tax issue in a small city they most likely did not reside in. This helped the White majority maintain the status quo but resulted in very inefficient and arguably discriminatory practices.

While the US Constitution has incurred only minor changes in its two-hundred-plus years of life, many states have significantly revised their constitutions with constitutional conventions, some more than once. Alabama was no different, having approved its sixth state constitution in 1901. This document was flawed in more ways than one. Several policies included racist language and segregationist policies intended very clearly to disenfranchise and discriminate against African Americans. Miscegenation (later determined unconstitutional by Loving v. Virginia in 1967) and racial segregation (challenged effectively with Brown v. Board in 1954) were embedded in the Alabama Constitution of 1901. Issues of democratic participation were included too, such as poll taxes and literacy tests, though rendered null and void by the Twenty-Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In addition to requiring all local government changes to go through referendums to voters from the entire state, it included a new amendment for each of these approved changes. This led the document to have 977 amendments. It was the longest written constitution of any US state and exceeded the length of any written constitution worldwide.

All these issues led, after decades of criticism and pushes for a new constitution, to the referendum to voters to choose to adopt the Alabama Constitution of 2022. The new constitution eliminated all the Jim Crow policies and racial language, which, even voided because of national policy, remained in the old constitution as an ugly reminder of the state’s past. It also addressed the needless involvement of voters on local issues outside their residency: Local provisions are embedded in the constitution and do not require statewide voters’ approval. Now the current constitution better represents the will of the people and aligns with best practices of efficiency. The constitution can still be changed through either a constitutional convention or proposals from the state legislature. In both circumstances, the proposed changes must be approved by a majority of voters to take effect.

Critical Thinking Questions

We have a tendency to think of constitutions as being foundational documents that should not need to be changed. Alabama’s Constitution of 1901 included several problematic elements that needed to be addressed and revised. What are other examples of circumstances or issues that might require a change in a state constitution?

Review your state constitution, focusing on the elements that differ from those in the US Constitution. What do you notice that state constitutions include that the federal constitution does not? Why do you think that is the case?

In this chapter, you will learn about the primary components of state constitutions and some of the differences between them and the federal constitution, such as the inclusion of local government. Because authority over local government is given to the states, some states retain that power, making local governments dependent on the state for changes, while other states provide local governments with “home rule” that enables them to make their own decisions. What might be a benefit and a disadvantage of each approach?