Alabama

• AL SOS Office
• Election Rules Alabama Code 17

SOS response

I believe that Attorney General’s Opinion 98-200 is helpful in addressing your question. This opinion concludes that the Secretary of State does not have the obligation to evaluate all of the qualifications of the nominees of political parties and independent candidates for state offices prior to certifying the nominees and candidates to the probate judges. The opinion also notes that if the Secretary of State gains knowledge from an official source arising from the performance of duties prescribed by law, that a candidate has not met a certifying qualification, the Secretary of State should not qualify the candidate.

Attorney General’s Opinion 98-200

Your question concerns whether the Secretary of State has an obligation to evaluate any qualifications of the nominees for political office.  The Code does not require the Secretary of State to determine whether each nominee meets all the qualifications for his or her particular office.  Some of the qualifications, however, are within the Secretary of State’s official knowledge.  By official knowledge I mean knowledge gained from an official source arising from the performance of duties prescribed by law.

Overview

In Alabama, there is no requirement to hold primaries, which means that if the Democratic Party decides not to hold a presidential primary then there remains only an opportunity to object to the nomination of the candidate for the general election. Since the voters get to vote only for Presidential Electors, there may not be an opportunity to object to the nomination of a Presidential candidate. Section  17-13-71 may allow for a party member to object to the nominated candidate if a primary has been held, otherwise…

ALA CODE § 17-13-2

No requirement to hold primaries

…but nothing herein contained shall make it obligatory upon any political party or parties to hold a primary election.

ALA Code § 17-13-42

Primary elections are not compulsory. A political party may, by its state executive committee, elect whether it will come under the primary election law.

ALA CODE § 17-13-101

Applicability

The provisions of Section 17-9-3 and this chapter shall apply to presidential preference primaries held under the provisions of this article unless clearly inconsistent herewith or inappropriate for the conduct of a presidential preference primary. Any political party holding a presidential preference primary may promulgate rules for the conduct of such primary not inconsistent with the provisions of this article.

 ALA CODE § 17-3-16 (not applicable under 17-13-101)

The name of no candidate shall be printed upon any official ballot used at any primary election unless such person is legally qualified to hold the office for which he or she is a candidate and unless he or she is eligible to vote in the primary election in which he or she seeks to be a candidate and possesses the political qualifications prescribed by the governing body of his or her political party.

 ALA CODE 17-13-70 and 17-13-71 applies to nominations made via a primary

The contests of nomination by a party for office, other than a county office, may be instituted by any qualified elector of the state, or of the political subdivision, as the case may be, who belongs to that party and who legally participated in such primary election, upon the following grounds, which may be used separately, or else be joined in the same contest:

ALA CODE § 17-9-3

(a) The following persons shall be entitled to have their names printed on the appropriate ballot for the general election, provided they are otherwise qualified for the office they seek:

 (2) All candidates who have been put in nomination by any caucus, convention, mass meeting, or other assembly of any political party or faction and certified in writing by the chair and secretary of the nominating caucus, convention, mass meeting, or assembly and filed with the judge of probate, in the case of a candidate for county office, and the Secretary of State in all other cases, on or before 5:00 P.M. on the date of the first primary election as provided for in Section 17-13-3.

Complaints

Attorney for the Defendant – Barry Ragsdale

• Hendershot v Kennedy - Jefferson County
  • 11/29/2011 Complaint
  • 12/14/2011 Motion for Preliminary Injunction
  • 01/04/2012 Motion to Dismiss
  • 01/05/2012 Motion for Stay
  • Motion for Recusal
  • 01/09/2012 Dismissed w. Prejudice
• Thompson v Kennedy – St Clair County
  • 01/09/2012 Motion for Preliminary Injunction
  • 01/11/2012 Motion to Dismiss
  • 01/09/2012 Dismissed
• Sorenson v Kennedy - Jefferson County
  • 12/04/2008 Complaint
  • 01/09/2012 Motion for Preliminary Injunction
  • 01/09/2012 Motion for Recusal
  • 01/12/2012 Opposition to Motion for Recusal