Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southern United States.

Law and government

Main article: Law and Government of Alabama

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Local & County Government

Alabama has 65 counties have their own elected legislative branch, usually called the Board of Commissioners, which usually also has executive authority in the county. Due to the restraints placed in the Alabama Constitution, all but 7 counties (Jefferson, Lee, Mobile, Madison, Montgomery, Shelby, and Tuscaloosa) in the state have little to no home rule. Instead, most counties in the state have to lobby to the Local Legislation Committee the state legislature to get simple local policies such as waste disposal to land use zoning.

Related Topics:
Counties - Alabama Constitution - Home rule

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Political Climate

The current governor of the state is Bob Riley and the two U.S. senators are Jefferson B. Sessions III and Richard C. Shelby (all three from the Republican Party). The current Alabama Constitution was adopted in 1901.

Related Topics:
Bob Riley - Jefferson B. Sessions III - Richard C. Shelby - Republican Party - Alabama Constitution - 1901

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During Reconstruction following the American Civil War, Alabama was occupied by federal troops of the Third Military District under General John Pope. In 1877, the Reconstruction period ended with the recognition of Rutherford B. Hayes as President-elect. White Southerners assumed control of the government and passed laws to segregate and disenfranchise black residents. The state became part of the "Solid South," a one-party system in which the Democratic Party became essentially the only political party in every Southern state. For nearly 100 years, local and state elections in Alabama were decided in the Democratic Party primary, with generally no Republican challenger running.

Related Topics:
Reconstruction - American Civil War - Third Military District - General John Pope - 1877 - Rutherford B. Hayes - White - Segregate - Solid South - Democratic Party

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From 1876 through 1956, Alabama supported only Democratic presidential candidates, by margins as high as 73 percentage points. In 1960, Alabama gave most of its electoral votes to segregationist candidate Harry F. Byrd. In 1964, the national Republican Party began its "Southern strategy," a plan to support segregation and oppose African American civil rights to win votes in the South. The first such candidate was conservative Barry Goldwater, who became the first Republican candidate supported by Alabama. In 1968, Alabama supported native son and American Independent Party (Segregationist) candidate George Wallace.

Related Topics:
1876 - 1956 - 1960 - Harry F. Byrd - 1964 - Republican Party - Southern strategy - Civil rights - Barry Goldwater - 1968 - American Independent Party - George Wallace

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The last Democratic candidate to win Alabama's votes in a presidential election was Southerner Jimmy Carter in 1976. Today, the Republican party has become increasingly dominant in conservative Alabama politics. However, in local politics, Democrats still control many offices, including majorities in both houses of the Legislature, and registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in the state. In 2004, George W. Bush won Alabama's nine electoral votes by a margin of 25 percentage points with 62.5% of the vote. The only 11 counties voting Democratic were Black Belt counties, where African Americans are in the majority.

Related Topics:
Jimmy Carter - 1976 - 2004 - George W. Bush - Black Belt - African American

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• U.S. presidential election, 2004, in Alabama