2012 Alabama elections
Election name2012 Alabama elections
CountryAlabama
Ongoingno
Previous election2010 Alabama elections
Previous year2010
Next election2014 Alabama elections
Next year2014

A general election was held in the U.S. state of Alabama on November 6, 2012. Along with the presidential election, all of Alabama's seven seats in the United States House of Representatives and several state-level and local offices were up for election. Primary elections took place on March 13, 2012.[1]

Federal offices

President of the United States

Main article: 2012 United States presidential election in Alabama

Republican candidate Mitt Romney won Alabama with 60.55% of the vote and gained nine electoral votes.

United States House of Representatives

Main article: 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Alabama

All of Alabama's seven seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 2012. Six Republicans and one Democrat were re-elected. No districts changed partisan control.

Public Service Commission

Commissioner
presidential
Election name2012 Alabama Public Service Commission election
CountryAlabama
Ongoingno
Previous year2008
Next election2016 Alabama elections#Public Service Commission
Next year2016
Nominee 1Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh
Party 1Republican Party (United States)
Popular vote 11,078,108
Percentage 154.17%
Nominee 2Lucy Baxley
Party 2Democratic Party (United States)
Popular vote 2909,323
Percentage 245.69%
Before electionLucy Baxley
Before partyDemocratic Party (United States)
After electionTwinkle Andress Cavanaugh
After partyRepublican Party (United States)

Incumbent Alabama Public Service Commission president Lucy Baxley, the only Democrat holding a statewide office at the time, lost re-election to Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh in a rematch of 2008.[2]

Democratic nominee

Republican primary

Candidates

State judiciary

Eleven statewide judicial seats in Alabama were up for election - five from the state supreme court and six from the appellate courts. Only two of them were contested.[6]

State Supreme Court, Chief Justice

Chief Justice
presidential
Election name2012 Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice election
CountryAlabama
Ongoingno
Previous election2006 Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice election
Previous year2006
Next election2018 Alabama elections#Chief Justice
Next year2018
Nominee 1Roy Moore
Party 1Republican Party (United States)
Popular vote 11,051,627
Percentage 151.77%
Nominee 2Bob Vance
Party 2Democratic Party (United States)
Popular vote 2977,301
Percentage 248.12%
Before electionChuck Malone
Before partyRepublican Party (United States)
After electionRoy Moore
After partyRepublican Party (United States)

Incumbent Republican Justice Chuck Malone was appointed by Governor Robert J. Bentley in 2011 to fill the remaining term of Democrat Sue Bell Cobb who resigned.[7] Malone ran for re-election to a full term and was challenged by former chief justice Roy Moore and circuit court judge Charles Graddick in the Republican primary.[8][9] Jefferson County circuit court judge Bob Vance emerged as the Democratic frontrunner after Harry Lyon, the former nominee, was disqualified due to improper comments made by him online.[10][11]

The involvement of Moore drew a lot of attention to the race owing to his controversial previous tenure as chief justice and initially attracted write-in candidates who sought to block his return.[12] Some former Republican justices even endorsed Vance instead of Moore despite him winning the primary.[13]

Roy Moore won the general election in November, returning to the state supreme court after a decade.[14] Vance lost by a margin of 3.65% while on the same ballot Barack Obama lost by 22%, indicating a strong overperformance in deep red Alabama.

Republican Primary

Candidates

Democratic Nominee

Disqualified
  • Harry Lyon, lawyer.[11]

Independent Candidates (later withdrew)

  • Ginger Poynter, lawyer. (endorsed Vance)[12]
  • Melinda Lee Maddox, lawyer.[12]

State Supreme Court, Associate Justice (Place 1)

Incumbent Republican Justice Thomas Woodall decided not to seek re-election.[17]

Republican Primary

Confirmed Candidates
Withdrawn candidates

Ballot measures

Twelve statewide ballot measures appeared on the ballot in Alabama - one in September and eleven in November. All but one were approved by the voters.[20]

2012 Alabama ballot measures
NameDescriptionVotesType
colspan="2" style="background: #47729E;";|colspan="2" style="background: #8B8B54;";|
Yes%No%
Amendment 1 (September)Transfers $145.8 million from an oil and gas trust fund to the General Fund for Medicaid budget.[21]390,42165.35206,99534.65Legislatively referred constitutional amendment
Amendment 1 (November)Extends payments made to the Forever Wild Land Trust for a 20-year period.[22]1,323,81975.16437,56024.84
Amendment 2Allows issuance of general obligation bonds of no more than $750 million.[23]1,145,03469.41504,61030.59
Amendment 3Defines the Stockton Landmark District within Baldwin County.[24]887,02467.80421,25532.20
Amendment 4Removes references to segregation of schools from the state constitution.[25]675,06439.341,040,98760.66
Amendment 5Transfers assets and liabilities of the Water Works and Sewer Board of the City of Prichard to the Mobile Area Water Sewer System.[26]900,59668.66411,16731.34
Amendment 6Prohibits mandatory participation in any healthcare system.[27]969,06958.96674,51841.04
Amendment 7Allows for the use of secret ballots in votes of employee representation and public votes on referendums and public office.[28]1,056,29967.11517,59532.89
Amendment 8Provides that the compensation paid to legislators does not increase during term of office.[29]1,102,98168.50507,12331.50
Amendment 9Allows the state legislature to implement business privilege tax on corporations.[30]880,60657.80642,92742.20
Amendment 10Related to the authority of state legislature and banking in the state.[31]778,99654.05662,37245.95
Amendment 11Prohibits any municipality outside of Lawrence County from imposing any municipal ordinance or regulation.[32]830,06766.11425,50133.89
Source: Alabama Secretary of State[33][34]

References

  1. ^ "Alabama elections, 2012". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2025-08-24.
  2. ^ Lyman, Brian (2012-10-14). "Baxley, Cavanaugh meet in PSC presidency rematch". Montgomery Advertiser. Archived from the original on 2014-10-20. Retrieved 2025-08-24.
  3. ^ Dean, Charles J. (2012-09-23). "Alabama Public Service Commission president race is for last seat held by a Democrat". Al.com. Retrieved 2026-03-08.
  4. ^ Brownfield, Andy (2012-03-14). "PSC president primary race headed for runoff". The Gadsden Times. Archived from the original on 2012-03-16. Retrieved 2025-08-24.
  5. ^ Moseley, Brandon (2011-12-27). "Kathy Peterson Running for Public Service Commission". Alabama Political Reporter. Retrieved 2025-08-24.
  6. ^ "Alabama judicial elections, 2012". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  7. ^ Johnson, Bob (2011-06-30). "Sue Bell Cobb resigns as chief justice". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  8. ^ Derby, Kevin (2011-11-23). "Roy Moore to Run for His Old Job -- Not the White House". Sunshine State News. Archived from the original on 2011-11-28. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  9. ^ Talbot, George (2011-07-29). "Charlie Graddick says he's 'running to win' in Supreme Court chief justice race". AL.com. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  10. ^ Chandler, Kim (2012-08-22). "Judge Robert Vance will be Democrats' candidate for Alabama chief justice". AL.com. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  11. ^ Velasco, Eric (2012-08-18). "New candidate sought to replace Alabama chief justice nominee Harry Lyon (slideshow)". AL.com. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  12. ^ Talbot, George (2012-08-21). "Mobile lawyers drop write-in bids for Alabama Supreme Court chief justice". AL.com. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  13. ^ Beyerle, Dana (2012-10-30). "Vance gets Republican, retired justice endorsements". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  14. ^ Chandler, Kim (2012-11-08). "'10 Commandments judge' Roy Moore wins his old job back". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2013-12-05. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  15. ^ Velasco, Eric (2011-08-31). "Alabama's new chief justice says he'll run for full 6-year term in 2012". AL.com. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  16. ^ Chandler, Kim (2012-08-21). "Judge Robert Vance says he wants to offer 'choice' in chief justice race". AL.com. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  17. ^ McCreless, Patrick (2012-01-10). "Circuit Judge Debra Jones to seek Alabama Supreme Court seat". The Anniston Star. Archived from the original on 2013-01-01. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
  18. ^ Kirby, Brendan (2012-03-06). "Meet the candidates: Alabama Supreme Court race turns on which kind of experience is best". AL.com. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
  19. ^ Jones, Adam (2011-09-18). "Local judge drops out of high court race". The Tuscaloosa News. Archived from the original on 2014-10-18. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
  20. ^ "Alabama 2012 ballot measures". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2025-09-05.
  21. ^ "Alabama Medicaid Amendment, Amendment 1 (September 2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2025-09-05.
  22. ^ "Alabama Forever Wild Land Trust Amendment, Amendment 1 (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2025-09-05.
  23. ^ "Alabama General Obligation Bond Amendment, Amendment 2 (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2025-09-05.
  24. ^ "Alabama Baldwin County Stockton Landmark District Amendment, Amendment 3 (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  25. ^ "Alabama Segregation Reference Ban Amendment, Amendment 4 (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  26. ^ "Alabama Assets and Liabilities Transfer Amendment, Amendment 5 (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  27. ^ "Alabama Healthcare Amendment, Amendment 6 (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  28. ^ "Alabama Secret Ballot Amendment, Amendment 7 (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  29. ^ "Alabama Legislative Compensation Amendment, Amendment 8 (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  30. ^ "Alabama Business Privilege Tax Amendment, Amendment 9 (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  31. ^ "Alabama Banking Amendment, Amendment 10 (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  32. ^ "Alabama Lawrence County Amendment, Amendment 11 (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  33. ^ "Certified General Election Results - Without Write-in Appendix". sos.alabama.gov. 2012-11-28. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
  34. ^ "Certification of Results". Alabama Secretary of State. 2012-10-09. Retrieved 2025-09-05.