Alabama Flashcards
(52 cards)
Effects of Jim Crow on African Americans
literacy test limited citizens’ ability to register to vote or cast ballots
Impacts of the Voting Rights Act
-turnout increased by 45% in presidential elections and by 160% in gubernatorial elections
-African Americans registered as democrats and voted for people who looked like themselves
- led to democratic party changing from white supremacy to biracial; if someone wanted to win they had to compete for African American votes
-Also led to a percentage of conservative whites moving to the republican party because democratic candidates had to have more moderate views on issues such as race
- democrats and republicans competed on an EQUAL footing for power
In what year did Alabama have African American state legislators
1971
-Since 1995, Black democrats have maintained average control of nearly 25% of state House seats and 22% if state senate seats
- One of the US house seats for Alabama is African American
-mayors of Birmingham and Montgomery are Black
What percentage of the population is African American
27%
George Wallace
ran in 1982 by creating a coalition that included African Americans, labor unions, metropolitan voters, and poorer voters which was used by democrats after Reagan influenced the realignment of whites to the republican party
-later ran as a conservative and stood in front of the University of Alabama and dais his famous segregation chant
Republican Party demographic
coalition consisted of white evangelicals, middle and upper class voters, and business interests as represented by the traditional big mules
When is the last time the state voted for a democratic president? Governor?
1978 and 1998
Democratic Decline?
-Although Democrats at the local level have outperformed statewide candidates well into the late 2000s
- since the 1970s, democrats have lost seats almost every election cycle including 2018 and 2020 due to loss of support from white rural voters
-Democrats lost both chambers of the state legislature in 2010
- today almost every democratic lawmaker is African American and every republican lawmaker is white
Republican Scandals
Speaker of the house, Mike Hubbard, was convicted on 12 felony charges, Judiciary Roy Moore was removed for attempting to thwart US Supreme court 2015 decision, and Robert Bentley pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations
Statewide offices are held by which party?
Republican
Democrats in elections
Hillary Clinton earned 34.4% of the state’s total vote; Joe Biden won 36.6% of the vote Gubernatorial candidate Parker Griffith won 36.4% of the 2014 vote and Walt Maddox won 40.4%
Doug Jones
became the first democratic senator since Richard Shelby in 1992 against Roy Moore
Roy Moore
ran against Doug Jones (a democrat), but Moore was accused of bring sexually inappropriate with a 14-year-old girl led to Jones narrowly defeating Moore by 1.6 percentage points
-Chief Justice of supreme court
-removed from office twice
- 10 commandments which violates establishment clause and tells people to ignore supreme court on same-sex marriage
Counties that vote republican
Madison, Tuscaloosa, and Lee County typically vote republican
Tommy Tuberville v Doug Jones
Auburn University football coach who defeated Jones in his reelection by more than 20 percentage points
-Jones performed better among younger voters with a college education and female voters, this is especially true for the 30% of whites who voted for him
Democrats rely on what type of voters
POOR, YOUNG, FEMALE, COLLEGE EDUCATED
Chris England
Elected by The State Democratic Executive Committee in 2019 making him the first Black chair
-this could reinvigorate the party which was seen as disorganized and a neglected grass roots organization
How has the population changed within the state?
remained largely stagnant over time urban population has stayed the same form 1970 to 2010
-hasn’t attracted major new industries which means that they haven’t attracted diverse workforce
-Alabama is still 68% white
Are political Parties racially polarized?
yes; Only 17% of white voters are democrats and 15% of blacks are republicans
Alabama Memorial preservation act of 2017
prohibits the removal of monuments that have been in place for at least 40 years and is interpreted as intended to protect monuments erected in honor of confederate causes
Abortion Laws in the State
1997: the state passed an anti-abortion bill that made it a felony to abort a fetus that has reached viability
2002: state passed an informed -consent law requiring verification that a woman seeking abortion had seen or waived seeing an ultrasound of the fetus
2013: the state restricted the availability of abortion-inducing drugs
2014: the state amended its statutes governing abortions for minors seeking to obtain an abortion without parental consent via judicial bypass to allow judges to appoint counsel to represent the interests of the unborn
2019: Passed the STRICTEST law in which abortions were banned in ALL circumstances unless the person wanted 99 years in prison
2006: the state legislature approved an amendment banning same-sex marriage
2017: passed a bill that allowed agencies to deny same sex couples the ability to adopt
2021: republican lawmakers introduced legislation that would criminally ban doctors from giving transgender kids puberty blockers
The issue of gambling
EVANGELICALS OPPOSE GAMBLING WHICH IS RAN BY POARCH CREEK INDIANS
- opposition has waned and a majority of Alabamians support a lottery funded education
Where do most liberals come from
The North; Tennessee River Valleys–> TBA built dams, provided jobs, infrastructure, and internet
Did they vote for Goldwater in 1964?
Yes; coattails allowed for republicans to win 5 congressional seats
