Alabama Voters Keep Racist Language In Law

What the...?

Only in America?

No... only in Alabama.

The reason this Amendment did not pass was because of the other sections/amendments that were also being repealed. Three out of the five had the word tax in it and because of that was doomed to fail. Alabamians will not vote yes to anything that has the word tax in it. Most of the No voters probably did not realize that we no longer have a poll tax. A lot of people were afraid that by voting for this they were making the way for tax increases, because that was what they were told. Almost all the amendments we were asked to vote on was increasing taxes. Word was going around to just vote no on all of them. Most of the people would have voted to take the racist language out if it had been on a separate amendment.

I AM IN NO WAY ENDORSING THIS IDEA, NOR WAS THIS IN ANY WAY PERTAINING TO THE WRITER OF THIS POST (I actually voted for this one). I am just trying to let people know how it was represented to Alabamians, what I heard on the news, and around the water cooler. The count was so close they had to do a recount.

Amendment 2, defeated by approximately 2,500 votes in last week’s election, was proposed to repeal portions of Alabama’s Constitution of 1901, specifically Section 256 and Amendment 111 relating to the separation of schools by race and the constitutional construction against the right to education. It would also repeal Section 259, Amendment 90 and Amendment 109 relating to the poll tax.

Separate schools shall be provided for white and colored children, and no child of either race shall be permitted to attend a school of the other race."


Amendment 111
Amendment of Sections 137, 139, 256, 258, 259, 260, 269, 270.

"To avoid confusion and disorder and to promote effective and economical planning for education, the legislature may authorize the parents or guardians of minors, who desire that such minors shall attend schools provided for their own race, to make election to that end, such election to be effective for such period and to such extent as the legislature may provide. "


Section 259
Use of poll taxes for support of public schools.
"All poll taxes collected in this state shall be applied to the support of of the public schools in the respective counties where collected."


Amendment 90
Veteran's Poll Tax Exemption Amendment.
"No person who honorably served in the military service of the United States...shall be required after the beginning of such service to pay the poll tax specified in the Constitution of Alabama as a prerequisite to the privilege of voting in Alabama..."


Amendment 109
Exempting Blind and Deaf Persons from Payment of Poll Tax
"No person who is either blind or deaf shall be required to pay the poll tax specified in the Constitution as a prerequisite to voting in Alabama..."
The defeat of the proposed statewide Amendment 2 has started a controversial and heated debate between many Alabama organizations.

ok ok.. i repeal my earlier 'only in Alabama' joke, since it's not really fair. unfortunate, that they didn't feel the need to make a stand-alone amendment for that language though.

They are already going to go in and take out the tax part and let it be put up for a vote again if the count from the vote stands or so I've heard.

Wow! I love to see someone bring so much data to a discussion. It's like showing up at a dinner party with a case of wine.

~Ulrika~

So, basically, Ursula, Alabama proved that the majority of voters are ignorant and can't take 2 minutes to read to remove archaic, racially divisive wording from the constitution of their state?

NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!