DOTHAN, Ala. (WDNews) — Alabama voters will decide four statewide amendments Nov. 3, including a plan to let neighboring county school systems merge and two measures on school activities.
All four appear on official sample ballots for Houston, Dale, Coffee, Covington, Geneva, Henry and Pike counties. Each question gets a separate yes-or-no vote.
The school merger amendment would create a process for future mergers. A yes vote would not merge any Wiregrass school systems.
Amendment 1
Amendment 1 deals with vacancies in the lieutenant governor’s office, pay and legislative travel spending.
The ballot calls for an election if the lieutenant governor’s office becomes vacant during the first two years of a term. It would also let lawmakers set the pay of the lieutenant governor and legislative officers.
Spending legislative funds on travel would need approval from a legislative officer.
Amendment 2
Amendment 2 would let two or more neighboring county school boards agree to form one school system. It concerns county-to-county mergers, rather than a merger of a city system with a county system.
Before a merger, the State Board of Education would have to study its effects and publish the findings. The review would cover matters such as students, families, bus routes, school programs, finances and taxes.
Written protests from at least 25% of qualified voters in any affected county school system could require a public vote. The state’s Fair Ballot Commission says a merger would then need majority support in each affected county and across all affected counties at the next general election.
For Wiregrass families, the question is whether to create that process. The ballot does not name local systems to be merged or approve school closings.
Amendment 3
Amendment 3 would require local school boards to adopt a daily Pledge of Allegiance policy for public K-12 schools. Boards would also have to adopt a policy allowing prayer started and led by students.
Students could choose whether to take part. The Fair Ballot Commission says students could opt out of both the pledge and prayer based on their beliefs. Local superintendents would review reported violations.
Amendment 4
Amendment 4 would require school boards to adopt a policy for public K-12 schools to play the first stanza of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at least once a week during school hours.
A school-approved band, choir, vocal group or singer could perform it instead.
Check Your County’s Ballot
A yes vote supports the change described in that amendment. A no vote rejects it. Voters can choose differently on each of the four questions.
Separate local questions also appear in some counties. Henry County’s sample ballot, for example, includes a proposed temporary 3-mill property tax on taxable property south of Sandy Creek to support public school projects in Headland.
That is a separate question from the statewide school merger proposal.
Read the official sample ballot for your county:
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 3, according to the Alabama Secretary of State’s 2026 Voter Guide.
