SB319 Alabama 2020 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Clyde ChamblissSenator

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2020

Title

Municipal elections, mayor to provide earlier notice of elections and print and distribute ballots earlier, to require the city clerk to provide notice of all elections to the Secretary of State in writing, Secs. 11-46-22, 11-46-25, 17-11-12 am'd.

Summary

SB319 moves up notice and ballot printing deadlines for most Alabama municipal elections, requires city clerks to notify the Secretary of State in writing, and updates the code language.

What This Bill Does

For general municipal elections (excluding Class 1 municipalities and those with a commission form of government), it changes the notice deadline from the first Tuesday in July to the second Tuesday in June and moves ballot printing to the fourth Tuesday in June. It also extends the printing and distribution deadline for ballots and supplies to 28 days before the general election (or 10 days after a runoff). Additionally, it requires the city clerk to notify the Secretary of State in writing of any municipal election and includes nonsubstantive technical updates to align with current code style.

Who It Affects

• Mayors of non-Class 1 municipalities and those not organized under a commission form of government will have to issue election notices earlier and ensure ballots are printed earlier.
• City clerks in all municipalities and election officials (including absentee ballot managers) will have to implement the new notice-in-writing requirement to the Secretary of State and follow the earlier printing/distribution deadlines.

Key Provisions

• Notice of general municipal elections must be given by the mayor by the second Tuesday in June (instead of the first Tuesday in July) for non-Class 1/non-commission municipalities.
• Ballots must be printed by the fourth Tuesday in June (instead of the third Tuesday in July).
• Official ballots and election supplies must be printed and distributed 28 days before the general municipal election, or 10 days after a runoff municipal election (instead of the previous timeline).
• The city clerk in every municipality must notify the Secretary of State in writing of any special or regularly scheduled municipal election.
• The bill includes nonsubstantive, technical revisions to update the code language to current style.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 23, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Elections