HB193 Alabama 2018 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Artis McCampbellRepresentative

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2018

Title

Open Primary elections, system created, qualifications to participate in general election, revised, Sec. 17-13-8.2 added; Secs. 17-13-7.1, 17-13-19, 17-13-20, 17-13-21, 17-13-23, 17-13-41, 17-13-101 repealed; Secs. 17-5-2, 17-5-7, 17-5-8, 17-6-21, 17-6-22, 17-9-3, 17-11-12, 17-13-1, 17-13-2, 17-13-3, 17-13-5, 17-13-6, 17-13-7, 17-13-8, 17-13-16, 17-13-18, 17-13-22, 17-13-50, 17-16-45, 17-16-46, 21-4-21am'd.

Summary

HB 193 would create an open, top-two primary system for all offices except President, placing all candidates on one primary ballot and advancing the top two to the general election (majority winner if over 50%).

What This Bill Does

For non-President offices, all qualified candidates would appear on a single primary ballot and all voters would vote the same ballot; if a candidate receives a majority of primary votes, that candidate wins the nomination, otherwise the two highest vote-getters advance to the general election. The Secretary of State would adopt rules to implement the new system. For the Presidential race, separate party ballots would remain, using a new section (17-13-8.2) with color-coded ballots and party designations.

Who It Affects

• Voters: all qualified electors (including independents) would vote on a single open primary ballot for most offices, rather than separate party ballots, and could influence which two candidates advance to the general election.
• Candidates and political parties (including independents): would appear on a single primary ballot for most offices, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the general election regardless of party; presidential candidates would continue to use party-specific ballots under the new rules.

Key Provisions

• Creates an open primary system for all offices other than President where all qualified candidates are on one primary ballot and all voters use the same ballot.
• If a candidate wins a majority in the primary, that candidate is the party’s nominee; if not, the two highest vote-getters move to the general election regardless of party.
• Authorizes the Secretary of State to adopt rules to implement the new primary system.
• Adds Section 17-13-8.2 to provide separate, color-coded ballots for the Office of President on the presidential primary ballots and maintains party-based roll-call and pledge language as described in the new presidential ballot format.
• Repeals multiple existing primary-related sections (17-13-7.1, 17-13-19, 17-13-20, 17-13-21, 17-13-23, 17-13-41, 17-13-101).
• Applies to primaries held after January 1, 2019; the act becomes effective on the first day of the third month after passage/approval.
• Makes extensive changes to Alabama’s ethics and campaign finance laws (definitions of candidate, contribution, expenditure, etc.) and updates reporting requirements and electronic filing provisions as part of the bill.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Elections