SB 42 Alabama Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Municipal elections; runoff elections, procedures revised

SB 42 revises Alabama's municipal election rules to require runoff elections whenever no candidate receives a majority of votes cast in any municipal election - including races with only two candidates. The bill mandates that if no candidate achieves over 50% of the total votes, the municipal governing body must hold a runoff between the top two candidates. This change applies to all Alabama cities and towns holding elections where a majority winner is not determined in the first round. The law, effective June 1, 2026, updates existing procedures to ensure runoffs occur in all such cases, eliminating the previous exception for two-candidate races.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Jan 2026

House Passage

Apr 2026

Signed into Law

Apr 2026

Introduced Jan 7, 2026 Signed Apr 17, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Enrolled · 4 edits · Apr 17, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was finalized and enrolled for signature, changing its status from 'Introduced' to 'Enrolled'. The substantive policy text remains focused on amending municipal election laws to require runoff elections when no candidate receives a majority, but the final version includes a minor correction to the runoff date (changing 'fourth Tuesday' to 'fourth Tuesday' for consistency) and clarifies the tie-breaking process by adding a disqualification clause for judges who promoted candidates in the tied election.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains limited to municipal elections in Alabama; no new entities or jurisdictions were added or removed.

TECHNICAL

The bill's status changed from 'Introduced' to 'Enrolled', indicating it has passed both legislative chambers and is ready for the Governor's signature.

Minor formatting and numbering adjustments were made throughout the document to align with the enrolled version, including updating the bill identifier from EJRPTC9-1 to EJRPTC9-2.

REQUIREMENT

A specific provision was added to disqualify any judge of probate who openly promoted candidates in an election that resulted in a tie, ensuring impartiality during the tie-breaking process.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the act was confirmed as June 1, 2026, and the certification dates for Senate and House passage were added (January 29, 2026, and April 7, 2026, respectively).

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 7, 2026

Lower · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 1229

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported Out of Committee Second House

lower

Jan 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

Pending Committee Action in Second House (Constitution, Campaigns and Elections)

lower

Jan 29, 2026

Upper · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 196

upper

Jan 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

upper

Jan 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

Pending Committee Action in House of Origin (County and Municipal Government)

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors