Alabama: Commandments, Amendments, and Defendants

Alabama’s 2004 election was a quiet affair. Signs that a presidential campaign was occurring-candidate visits, partisan rallies, hard-hitting television commercials, or get-out-the-vote efforts-were largely missing from the state. The outcome of Alabama’s U.S. Senate race was a forgone conclusion from the beginning of the year. All of the state’s congressmen were easily reelected. Contests for the few state offices up for election in 2004 were generally both invisible and uncompetitive. The only part of the ballot that generated any interest-and even here it was limited-involved a pro-posed amendment to Alabama’s already long state constitution.