By Jedediah Blinks
October 20, 2029
MONTGOMERY, ALA. — Alabama lawmakers voted this week to resume requiring literacy tests for voters for the first time in six decades.
After secession, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and its prohibition on discriminatory practices no longer applied to the New Confederacy. State lawmakers and voting officials initially refrained from imposing operational changes until they could review the legal landscape and see the legislative agenda of the New Confederate Congress.
Now, the Alabama Legislature has passed a resolution clarifying that its historical literacy test requirement in the state constitution remains in force and will apply to all elections going forward.
“My view is if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And the federal government came in a long time ago and fixed something that didn’t need fixing. So, we’re gonna try it the old way and see how it goes,” said Sen. Todd Elders, R-Decatur.
As it existed in 1965, the literacy test permitted voting officials to select a number of questions to administer to prospective voters, with the discretion to “pass” or “fail” people regardless of the accuracy of their answers. Questions included:
- Who passes laws dealing with piracy?
- How many States were required to approve the original Constitution in order for it to be in effect?
- On the impeachment of the Chief justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S., who tries the case?
The Alabama resolution clarified that the revived requirement would only apply to new voters or to those changing their registrations. It also directed the secretary of state to create new questions “pertinent to this great County’s founding.”
Lawmakers in Mississippi and Louisiana have introduced legislation to reinstate their literacy test requirements. The New Confederate Civil Liberties Alliance has sent letters to each legislature asking them to “reject Jim Crow 2.0.”
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