SB279 Alabama 2019 Session

Updated Feb 26, 2026

Notable

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Rodger SmithermanSenator
Democrat
Session: Regular Session 2019
Title: Elections, courts, supreme court and courts of appeal, judicial seats further provided for
Summary: SB 279 creates permanent ballot place names for each seat on Alabama's Supreme Court and its appellate courts, starting with the 2022 elections, and requires clerks to share ballot placement information with the Secretary of State and political parties.
What This Bill Does
It assigns fixed Place numbers to each judicial seat across the Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, and Court of Civil Appeals beginning with the 2022 elections. It maps how seats were labeled in past elections (Place No. 1, 2, 3, etc.) to these permanent Place numbers. It requires clerks to notify the Secretary of State in writing about ballot placement and to make that information available to political party executives. The changes take effect before the 2022 elections.

Who It Affects
Voters: will see fixed Place numbers for each judicial seat on ballots, reducing confusion across elections.
Election administration and political parties: clerks must report ballot placements to the Secretary of State and provide the information to party executives.

Key Provisions
Section 1 establishes permanent Place numbers for each seat: Supreme Court (Place 1-4 and Place 5-8 equivalents), Court of Criminal Appeals (Place 1-5), and Court of Civil Appeals (Place 1-5), with specified mappings from past ballot labels to the new Place numbers (e.g., 2018 'Place No. 1' becomes 'Place 1' on the Supreme Court; 2016 'Place No. 1' becomes 'Place 5'; 2014 mappings include 'Place 8' on the Supreme Court, etc.).
Section 2 requires clerks of the Supreme Court, Court of Civil Appeals, and Court of Criminal Appeals to provide written notice of ballot placement to the Secretary of State and to make this information available to a political party's executive director.
Section 3 states the act becomes effective February 1, 2021, with the permanent Place naming taking effect for elections beginning in 2022.

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